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Coming into the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, everyone was talking about Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton, who missed Sunday’s game after injuring his back in a car accident earlier in the week.
But behind Derek Anderson’s solid, largely mistake-free performance (277 yards, one TD and no interceptions), a solid run game led by Jonathan Stewart (73 yards on 22 carries), outstanding performances by TE Greg Olsen (10 receptions for 110 yards) and WR Kelvin Benjamin (eight receptions for 104 yards) and an impressive performance by their defense, the Panthers were able to beat the Buccaneers for the second time this season and stay alive in the NFC South race.
No NFC South team has won the division in consecutive years, and the Panthers won it in 2013. That trend was almost guaranteed to continue because Carolina could have been eliminated from NFC South contention if they had lost on Sunday and both the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints won their Week 15 matchups.
The Buccaneers led the Panthers 10-9 at halftime even though Carolina controlled the ball for most of the first half and had played more consistently. However, the Panthers didn’t give up at any point during the game. It didn’t always look pretty, but not only are their playoff hopes still alive, but they may actually lead the NFC South with a 5-8-1 record after Week 15 is all said and done if the Saints lose to the Chicago Bears on Monday night.
It’s crazy to think that a record of 5-8-1 could be good enough to lead a division after Week 15, but that’s just the sad the state of the NFC South. The leader will be 6-8 at best, but even if the Saints win on Monday night and take over sole possession of first place in the division, Carolina will still be very much in the mix.
Justin Patrick is a New England Patriots writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @calling_allfans, like him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google. You can also email him at [email protected]
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