Carolina Panthers

Ron Rivera Literally Sleeping on San Francisco

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

One advantage to the Carolina Panthers playing on Thursday was that coach Ron Rivera was able to scout San Francisco live as they played on Monday night…

Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera was not pleased that his reigning NFC Champions had to open up the season on the road. Furthermore, after all teams played their final preseason games on a Thursday night, the Panthers had only a week to prepare instead of the normal ten days. However, the dividends pay after the fact as Rivera and his staff was able to watch the 49ers live on Monday night.

The opening of the NFL season led the league to host a special double-header on Monday. After the Steelers dismantled Washington, the 49ers kicked off against the Rams at 10:20pm EDT. Coach Rivera did his best to scout the Panthers next opponent, but even more impressive was his honesty when asked if he viewed the game.

“Unfortunately, I stayed up and watched. And the reason why I say unfortunately is I fell asleep somewhere in the beginning of the fourth quarter,” Rivera said during Wednesday’s press conference. “But I got to see three quarters of it.”

It was past 1:00am EDT on the east coast when the fourth quarter began and the 49ers had mounted a two score lead with little opposition. While Rivera may have slept for the live version, he won’t be sleeping on San Francisco when they visit Bank of America on Sunday.

Coming off a short week and having to travel across the county, all outside factors are in Carolina’s favor. But coming off a loss to the Broncos that equals the amount of losses suffered all of last season, expect the Panthers to answer.

While the 49ers earned a shut-out victory on Monday, Rivera and the reigning league MVP should provide a better measuring stick of their capabilities. Yes, Rivera admitted to being asleep on Monday night, but ‘Riverboat’ Ron and the Panthers will be prepared come Sunday.