Panthers keep the playoff dream alive by playing a complete game leading to a statement win over the Rams in Week 13
Carolina Panthers remain firmly in the playoff hunt.
The Carolina Panthers found themselves with a massive opportunity at the start of the week to snatch the NFC South lead with a win over the San Francisco 49ers and failed to live up to the expectations on a national stage on Monday night.
It was the kind of game that can cause a cross-roads moment for an organization and the Panthers had a short week to prepare for an immense challenge against the NFC-leading Los Angeles Rams.
Carolina didn’t bat an eye on Sunday, six days after the brutal loss, and was able to keep the playoff dream alive with a statement win in front of the home crowd. A tremendous response in all three phases by this team under head coach Dave Canales.
Panthers complete game against the Rams helped sent a statement at the right time
The Panthers are still on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff picture after Week 13 but this was absolutely a must-win game for the Panthers and Carolina delivered in a shootout against one of the hottest teams in football.
The offense was the big talking point. After dropping the ball the season before, Canales’ play-calling was seriously in question and the elements played right into his hands at Bank of America Stadium. The Panthers leaned into their strong run game, totaling 164 yards on the ground, with Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle each eclipsing 50 yards on the ground.
The success in the run game started opening up opportunities down the field and quarterback Bryce Young took advantage of those favorable looks throwing three touchdowns of 30+ yards, including two clutch touchdowns on fourth down.
But, the real story coming into this game was whether or not the banged up defense could hold their own against the MVP front runner in quarterback Matthew Stafford. Credit to defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero because his squad answered the call against his former mentor.
Carolina forced three takeaways and had a massive interception returned for a touchdown in the first quarter. Even though the unit gave up four touchdowns against the Rams’ offense, the takeaways proved to be huge for the offense to capitalize on.
Best path to the playoffs for the Panthers remains clear and within reach
Even with the win, the Panthers failed to gain any ground in terms of the actual standings. The Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions are still above the Panthers in the wild card hunt looking up at the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers.
The best path to the playoffs for the Panthers will be winning the NFC South. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers still hold a half-game lead over the Panthers after improving to 7-5 with a win over the Arizona Cardinals.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5)
- Carolina Panthers (7-6)
- Atlanta Falcons (4-8)
- New Orleans Saints (2-10)
Looking ahead, the Panthers will face the New Orleans Saints next week before facing the Bucs twice in the final three weeks of the season. Those two games will ultimately decide the NFC South and it’s likely the other team gets completely left out of the party the way things are looking right now.
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