Oddly enough, the Carolina Panthers came into Week 15 with a 5-8 record and control of their own playoff destiny. And, in an even odder development that’s so apropos of this absurd 2022 version of the NFC South, they’re coming out with a 5-9 record while still in control of their own playoff destiny.
Interim head coach Steve Wilks and his team didn’t get the result they wanted on Sunday. The Pittsburgh Steelers (and their fans) took control of Bank of America Stadium—giving the Panthers a taste of their own medicine with a dominant chokehold of a ground game—and didn’t let go in a 24-16 triumph.
But, luckily for Carolina, they got the exact results they wanted out of the other two games involving their divisional foes.
The first came courtesy of the New Orleans Saints, who topped the Atlanta Falcons to the tune of a 21-18 victory. That outcome kept Atlanta knotted with Carolina in terms of overall record (5-9), but also moved New Orleans up to a 5-9 mark in what’s now a three-way tie for second place.
Carolina’s kicker here, however, is that their 3-1 tally in the division gives them the edge over New Orleans’ 2-3 and Atlanta’s 1-4 totals.
A few hours later, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coughed up 17-point lead to the Cincinnati Bengals—falling to 6-8. This kept the cats just one game behind the top spot.
Now, what do the Panthers have to do to get to the playoffs? Well, again, they can just win out.
One of Carolina’s final three opponents is Tampa Bay. As long as they take that trio of games, even if the Bucs win their other two, that puts the Panthers at 8-9 with a divisional record of 5-1. That, of course, would trump an 8-9 Tampa team with a 4-2 divisional mark.
But, if we’re sticking to winning the day, their next few ones lead up to a clash with the 7-7 Detroit Lions on Saturday. And being that they’re winners in six of their last seven tries, the Panthers can’t afford to look too far ahead just yet.
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