Right now, the Carolina Panthers are flying extremely high. They just punched their ticket to the NFC championship game with their win over the Seattle Seahawks, a team many had pegged as the favored team. Cam Newton looked solid, the defense got plenty of pressure and sacks on Russell Wilson, and they looked the part of a championship-ready team.
But their defense, as stellar as it’s been, could very well be what keeps the Panthers from winning it all.
The Panthers’ formula is pretty clear to see after four and a half months of football: they start quick on both sides of the ball. Newton gets the offense rolling early, the defense suffocates the opposing offense, and the Panthers put teams in early holes. Those holes change the entire strategy they walked in with, and most likely those holes are too deep to crawl out of.
It’s a formula that starts out well; fans saw how well it worked earlier this afternoon. It’s the second part of that equation where the Panthers start to come into question. They can start hot and get teams into those holes, but keeping them in there is where Carolina starts to struggle. They almost blew a big lead to the New York Giants, and they nearly blew another big lead today. Granted, they made the one big play they needed to make to win those games, but in the playoffs it’s foolish to have to count on that one play.
If the Panthers want to win the Super Bowl, they’re going to have to shut down two explosive and dangerous offenses — the Arizona Cardinals and whoever comes out of the AFC. The Panthers can start strong like they have been, but they absolutely must get better at staying strong deeper into the game. These offenses are no joke, and they’re all perfectly capable of scoring quickly anywhere on the field. Carolina can’t afford to let these teams sneak back into the game, because one of these times they’re going to do it with an offense that they won’t get that one big play against. And when that happens, it could be a killer.
I have to give the Panthers credit — I did not think they were going to be as good as they are, especially after they lost Kelvin Benjamin. Newton and that defense have carried this team into a position where they’ve got a real shot at winning it all. Newton’s continuing to do his job, and it’s time the defense tightens up the one weakness they’ve showed this season. If they can do that, Carolina will be sitting pretty. If not, their second loss of the season could come at the worst possible time.
