Photo Credit: Jeff Siner/ Charlotte Observer
There’s only one undefeated team remaining in the NFL and that is the Carolina Panthers. So it only makes sense if fans begin to question if the Panthers can remain undefeated. At the beginning of the season, it seemed like the Panthers were going to go to the playoffs, but now it looks like they could be heading towards the Super Bowl.
The Panthers have two regular season games remaining against their divisional rivals. This Sunday, the Panthers faced off against the New York Giants and it was a heated game to say the least. Odell Beckham Jr. had an out of character game in which he was very emotional and fought with Josh Norman and Cortland Finnegan the entire game. The game came down to a last second field goal by Graham Gano after Beckham Jr. scored the game-tying touchdown.
The two remaining games for the Panthers are more than likely to be a sweep, leaving them at 16-0. After last week’s game against the Falcons that ended in a shutout, the ending seems obvious at this point. Cam Newton did not even have to play the entire game as Derek Anderson took over for him. The Falcons have also managed to drop the ball and are on a 6-game losing streak that doesn’t look to be ending anytime soon. The Panthers look to be the surefire winner of that second matchup.
Their last game of the regular season is against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Their week 4 meeting ended with a score of 37-23, clearly in the Panthers favor. Newton completed 11 of 22 passes, threw for 124 passing yards, threw 2 touchdowns and had a passer rating of 97.5. Their second meeting against rookie quarterback Jameis Winston should be interesting since Winston threw four interceptions and was sacked twice last time. If the defense is as hungry as they were at their last meeting, it looks like the Bucs will conclude their season with a division loss.
If all of these matchups go as predicted, the Carolina Panthers will go the rest of the season undefeated. That is no easy feat, especially for a team that went 7-8-1 last year. To say that the Panthers are a new team would be an understatement and one that rings true as well. If the Carolina Panthers go 16-0 this season, they will show why they deserve even more praise and credit that they’re getting.
