Flawed, but surging Panthers can be major spoilers in the playoffs
When the Carolina Panthers were humiliated against the Minnesota Vikings on the final day of November, the season was essentially over.
However, three straight wins, coupled with the December floundering of divisional teams, put Carolina in position to capture the division, reach the postseason and incredibly host a playoff game.
All the Panthers had to do was prevail in Atlanta -- against a Falcons team with just six victories, as well.
Simple enough, for a Panthers team with only two road wins heading into Week 17. Right?
Apparently so. The Panthers came out ready and dominated the action from Sunday's opening kickoff, steamrolling their way to a 34-3 victory at the Georgia Dome.
Even with Sunday's division title, the Panthers still haven't posted back-to-back winning campaigns in their 20-year franchise history.
But none of that matters now -- the Panthers have reached the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time in club history. Of equal importance, Carolina stands as the first repeat champion in the 12-year existence of the NFC South.
As a result, the fourth-seeded Panthers (7-8-1) will host the fifth-seeded Arizona Cardinals on Wild Card Weekend (likely next Saturday). And who knows, Carolina might even be favored to advance to Round 2 of the NFC playoffs.
Carolina enters the playoffs on a four-game winning streak, while Arizona has dropped two straight and four of its last six.
More importantly, though, is the state of their quarterback situation: Will the Cardinals ride third-stringer Ryan Lindley, fourth-stringer/rookie Logan Thomas or No. 2 QB Drew Stanton, who recently underwent arthroscopic knee surgery to fight an infection?
Odds are it won't be Stanton ... and Lindley just threw his first-ever touchdown pass on Sunday (against the 49ers).
Frankly, it might not matter to a surging Panthers defense that held a formidable Falcons offense to three points and 288 total yards. Oh, and the Carolina defense also tallied two pick-sixes off Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan -- with Roman Harper (31 yards) and Tre Boston (84 yards) netting the return TDs.
Many thought Sunday's winner-take-all matchup would be a good, close game. By halftime, though, the outcome had essentially become academic -- leaving the Panthers extra time to mentally start preparing for the unlikeliest of playoff runs.
(In the Super Bowl era, Carolina stands as only the second sub-.500 division winner in NFL history, a quirky distinction shared with the 2010 Seattle Seahawks.)
Moving forward, everything's coming together for the Panthers. The much-maligned offensive line has found productive pieces at right tackle and left guard. By extension, Carolina has quietly become an efficient running team, which takes the pressure off quarterback Cam Newton (165 total yards, two TDs vs. Atlanta), who has suffered through a middling season (by his standards).
Then there's the secondary, which has been completely made over since that ugly loss in Minnesota. Two veterans were cut and rookies put in their place. As a result, the secondary's faster and more active.
That speed-focused renovation was on full display against Ryan and that once-stellar Falcons offense.
Sunday marked the first game of multiple pick-sixes in club history. Of equal relevance, Carolina held star wideout Julio Jones to just four catches and 58 yards.
From a broader perspective, you know a team dominated the action in all three phases when its quarterback totals only 16 pass attempts (and 114 yards passing) ... and it still wins the total-yardage battle.
And this occurred with Ryan attempting 47 passes!
Again, it comes down to the new-and-improved offensive line, which helped the Panthers account for 194 rushing yards (on 35 attempts). Newton notched a team-high 51 yards; but Jonathan Stewart, Fozzy Whittaker and Philly Brown each gained 40-plus ground yards.
Of course, running the ball with great success will be a substantially more difficult task next week. Arizona ranks eighth in rushing defense, allowing just 102.2 yards per game.
Their last postseason encounter? During the 2008 NFC playoffs (January 2009), when the fourth-seeded Cardinals rolled into Charlotte and blistered the top-seeded Panthers by 20, forcing six turnovers.
Arizona eventually went on to the Super Bowl, losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the final minute.
It's highly unlikely the 2014 Panthers -- as the NFC's No. 4 seed -- will enjoy a similar run to Super Bowl glory. After all, this is still a flawed team with a losing record.
But the Panthers are also making things interesting, getting hot at the absolutely perfect time.
