A surprise team lands as my team of the week in week 14 and it is the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers went into Seattle and beat the Seahawks, 30-24, and still remain in the hunt for the crown of the NFC South.
The Panthers have went through many hardships this year. Just to list a few: they have had three starting quarterbacks, traded their star running back midseason, their head coach was fired, and they have one of the worst offenses in the league. Despite all of this, they were able to go into Seattle, which is one of the best home field advantages in the league, and beat the tough Seahawks.
Sam Darnold will most certainly remain their QB1 for the rest of the season after showing what he had in his bag this previous game. It is crazy to think but although the Panthers have went through so many bad things this season, they are one game behind Tampa for the lead in the NFC South. There is a realistic chance that the Panthers could win the NFC South because of how bad it has been.
This game was crucial towards winning the division as their lackluster offense finally picked up the slack and helped the defense out on the way to the victory. The defense for the Panthers is what has kept them in most games as they stand as one of the more underrated defenses in the league in my opinion.
The run game really helped the Panthers out as they combined for over 220 rushing yards on the day. Who needs Christian McCaffrey when your running back room can put up those type of numbers, but can they do it consistently is the question.
The Panthers remaining strength of schedule is one of the weakest in the league. The Panthers certainly do have a realistic shot at taking the NFC South and this was just one small step towards it. If I would've told you in August that the Carolina Panthers would still be in the playoff race in mid-December, you would've said I was nuts.
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