Are Playoffs Still Not Out of the Question for the Panthers?
After a refreshing 30-20 win over the Cardinals earlier today, the Panthers seem to be building some much needed momentum heading into the second half of the season thanks in part to their improved defensive performance.
While the young and injured secondary was by no means effective at thwarting Carson Palmer's pass game, giving up 363 yards through the air, they turned in an especially acceptable performance considering Robert McClain and Daryl Worley, the two starting corners responsible for 16 combined tackles, were both questionable for today's game. They were able to keep Fitzgerald in check for a 7.4 yard reception average and zero touchdowns, and for a secondary that had given up 1187 yards in the team's past three losses, the Panthers have to be happy with that performance.
The real story in this game, though, was on the defensive line. The Panthers, with a revamped pass rush, racked up a whopping eight sacks on Palmer, something that anyone watching the anemic pass rush at the beginning of the season would have deemed impossible. They also held electric running back David Johnson to just 24 yards rushing on 10 carries. With this revitalized defense, are the Panthers starting to turn their season around?
The Panthers' remaining opponents have a combined record of 36-29-2. This doesn't exactly look good for the team on paper. However, the only definite loss I see them taking for the rest of the year is against the surging 6-2 Raiders. Analyzing their divisional opponents, the Panthers barely lost to the Buccaneers and Saints by a combined 6 points on heartbreaking field goals, even with the team playing awfully on defense in the latter game. These two games are certainly winnable if this defensive performance carries over and Cam can keep doing what he's doing. A win against the high-octane Falcons might be tougher to pull off, but being a home game at the end of the season in which the team will hopefully be at full strength on both sides of the ball, it's not completely off the table (they did manage to score 33 points in their loss earlier in the season). I say they go at least 2-1 in these games.
Looking at the rest of their schedule, wins against the Rams, Chiefs, and Chargers seem almost certain. The Seahawks are a formidable opponent, but have been prone to poor offensive performances this year. If Cam and friends can put up some points, they have a solid shot at a W. The other question mark on the schedule is Washington. Going against the 3rd ranked passing offense in the country, the secondary is going to have a tough time handling Cousins' passing attack, but a porous Redskins defense provides some opportunity. Let's say the team is able to win one of these games.
This means I have the team projected to finish the season with a 9-7 record. While a little on the optimistic side, this certainly is within the realm of possibility and good enough to claim a wild card spot in most years. However, the NFC is a strong conference this season, and really only two teams, the 49ers and the Bears, are out of playoff contention at this point. While I can see the Panthers closing out the season winning a respectable 5 or 6 more games, whether they make the playoffs or not really depends on the performances of the other teams in the conference. Taking this into account, a playoff berth might be hard to come by this season even if they finish out the season 7-2.
But anything is possible, and based on today's performance, the Panthers are slowly returning to top form. Don't count this team out just yet.
