Is the Carolina Panthers Season Over?

Photo: David T. Foster III/Charlotte Observer

Yesterday was an absolute dreadful day for the Carolina Panthers.  Not only did they pile on another loss, but it was an awful loss.  For a team trying to sneak into the playoffs by grabbing a wildcard spot, you cannot lose to the Atlanta Falcons.  At home.  Not scoring a touchdown.  Giving up 29 points.  The Panthers looked bad in every facet of yesterday’s 29-3 loss, and even though they’re still 5-5, their season is essentially over.  Yesterday’s game sent a message.  And that message is the Panthers are not a playoff team.

When you look at the Panthers’ remaining schedule, it makes yesterday’s loss to the Falcons that much more devastating.  Of the six games left, they still have to play the Seattle Seahawks, plus the New Orleans Saints twice.  They still have to play the Colts, who are a very capable team, in Indianapolis.  And they must face the Falcons again in three weeks, this time in Atlanta.  Before yesterday, Panthers fans felt a lot more confident about that game, but getting blown out at home against them makes you weary about having to go down to Atlanta to play them.  The Washington Redskins are the only team left on the schedule that you feel confident about winning.

Now, this is not to say the Panthers aren’t capable, or won’t win a few of these games.  But having to bounce back from yesterday’s loss will be a challenge.  It will be a challenge for Ron Rivera to regroup this team.  It will be a challenge for Kyle Allen, who threw four interceptions and will have to gain back trust from this fan base.  It will be a challenge to the defense who is not living up to potential.  You just get the feeling from that game that this is where things start to go downhill for this team really quick.

If you’re a Panthers fan, you are going to need to root for the Vikings, Seahawks, Rams, and Eagles all to lose because they are currently ahead of them in the wildcard race.  But that is a very tall task to ask for because those teams, especially the Vikings and Seahawks (who currently hold the NFC wildcard spots) are very good.  And at 8-3 (Vikings) and 8-2 (Seahawks), those teams are well ahead of Carolina.

Because of the way this season has gone, I believe you will see some changes with this team in the offseason.  Quarterback is definitely a question mark and will be the most intriguing position to address this offseason.  But that is far from the only question mark for this team.  The offensive line definitely needs to be fixed or it won’t matter who is the quarterback for this team.  The defense has not been good.  And lastly, but most importantly, the coaching staff must be in question.  They have not done a very good job.  Things are about to get very interesting for this Carolina Panthers football team.

Garett