What are the Panthers’ chances of making the playoffs at 3-5?

Losing to the Falcons on Thursday night was a significant blow for the Panthers’ chances of making the NFL playoffs.

Losing to the Falcons on Thursday night was a significant blow for the Panthers’ chances of making the NFL playoffs. Heading into Week 9 (not counting Monday night’s game), Carolina’s odds of making the postseason are in bad shape. According to FiveThirtyEight’s prediction model, the team is projected to finish the year 6-10 with a -57.1 point differential. Their chances of making the playoffs are 3%.

The schedule isn’t doing them any favors, either. On Sunday they will visit the 7-1 Chiefs, followed by the (currently) 5-2 Buccaneers, who already beat them back in Week 2. Scoring an upset over Kansas City seems pretty impossible, so we can assume Carolina will go into Week 10 with a 3-6 record.

Beating Tampa at home won’t be easy, but it’s not unthinkable given how close the last matchup was even with three turnovers from Teddy Bridgewater. If the Panthers can somehow pull off a win there, they’ll keep their (admittedly slim) hopes alive.

Their next two opponents after the Bucs are the Lions and the Vikings, both beatable teams. Beating Tampa, Detroit and Minnesota would put this team at 6-6 going into their bye week. That might give them an outside shot to earn the extra wild card spot down the stretch.

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What are the Panthers’ chances of making the 2020 playoffs?

Unless they tank or suffer a lot of serious injuries, these Panthers will be bad but not Trevor Lawrence bad.

Fairweather Panthers fans will be tested this season. After finishing 5-11 last year and then seeing so many important players either retire, sign elsewhere in free agency or get cut, the 2020 season looks as daunting as any in recent memory for this franchise.

What are their chances of making the playoffs this year? Not great.

ESPN ran 20,000 simulations for this upcoming season using their Football Power Index (FPI) prediction model. Things look good for the Chiefs, who have a 21% chance of repeating as Super Bowl champions according to their projections.

As for Carolina, the simulations had them winning an average of just 5.6 games and making the playoffs just 7% of the time. The only teams with worse odds were Washington (6%) and Jacksonville (4%). Finishing with the third-worst record in the league would be hard to swallow. It would also not low enough to land them the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft and a chance to pick a new franchise quarterback.

Unless they tank or suffer a lot of serious injuries, these Panthers will be bad but not Trevor Lawrence bad.

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NFC playoff picture: The Panthers are officially eliminated

There are still three weeks left to go in the regular season, but the Panthers have officially been eliminated from playoff contention.

There are still three weeks left to go in the regular season, but the Panthers have officially been eliminated from playoff contention. Their own embarrassing loss to the Falcons was bad enough. It was the Vikings’ victory over the Lions that made it official, though.

Here’s where things stand in the NFC playoff picture heading into Monday night’s game between the Eagles and Giants.

Playoff teams

1. San Francisco 49ers (11-2)
2. Green Bay Packers (10-3)
3. New Orleans Saints (10-3)
4. Dallas Cowboys (6-7)
5. Seattle Seahawks (10-3)
6. Minnesota Vikings (9-4)

Still in the race

7. Los Angeles Rams (8-5)
8. Chicago Bears (7-6)
9. Philadelphia Eagles (5-7)

The Eagles can still catch Dallas for that No. 4 seed but they are running out of time. A win tonight against an awful New York team with Eli Manning starting again is an absolute must.

Seattle’s loss to the Rams on Sunday night kept LA in the race for the No. 6 spot. Jared Goff has turned things around after a brutal stretch and put some pressure on Kirk Cousins and Minnesota to maintain that seed. The Vikings close out the regular season against the Chargers (away), Packers (home) and Bears (home). The Rams will face the Cowboys (away), 49ers (away) and Cardinals (home).

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NFC playoff picture: Bubble teams like the Rams are running out of time

Here’s an updated look at the NFC playoff picture after Week 12.

There’s still five weeks left to play in the NFL’s 2019 regular season. We already have a good idea who’s going to be in the postseason, though.

Here’s an updated look at the NFC playoff picture after Week 12.

Playoff teams

1. San Francisco 49ers (10-1)
2. New Orleans Saints (9-2)
3. Green Bay Packers (8-3)
4. Dallas Cowboys (6-5)
5. Seattle Seahawks (9-2)
6. Minnesota Vikings (8-3)

Still in the race

7. Los Angeles Rams (6-5)
8. Chicago Bears (5-6)
9. Philadelphia Eagles (5-6)
10. Carolina Panthers (5-6)

The gap between the teams that are currently in line for a playoff spot and those that are trying to work their way in is significant. LA’s mortifying loss to the Ravens on Monday night might have made it impossible for them to catch up with Seattle and Minnesota for a wild card spot.

If there’s going to be any change, Dallas could end up losing the NFC East race to the Eagles, which would give Philly the No. 4 seed. Other than that, it’s hard to see any of the other five playoff teams dropping out at this point. The Seahawks have been winning a lot of close games and are due for some regression. It hasn’t happened yet, though. Meanwhile, the Vikings have a pretty cushy schedule to close out the year.

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NFC playoff picture: Panthers all but out of the race after Week 11 loss

Here’s an updated look at the NFC playoff picture after Week 11.

Technically the Panthers aren’t out of the playoff race, but realistically their loss to the Falcons on Sunday made reaching the postseason impossible in 2019.

Here’s an updated look at the NFC playoff picture after Week 11.

Playoff teams

1. San Francisco 49ers (9-1)
2. Green Bay Packers (8-2)
3. New Orleans Saints (8-2)
4. Dallas Cowboys (6-4)
5. Seattle Seahawks (8-2)
6. Minnesota Vikings (8-3)

Still in the race

7. Los Angeles Rams (6-4)
8. Philadelphia Eagles (5-5)
9. Carolina Panthers (5-5)

According to FiveThirtyEight’s playoff predictions, Carolina now has just a 4% chance of making it this year.

Ron Rivera will continue trying to win games as best he can, both to save his job and because that’s what NFL coaches do. It would be prudent of him to give the younger players on his roster more snaps, though.

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