Playoff-bound Panthers?
It seems ridiculous to even suggest the possibility of the Carolina Panthers making the playoffs after their 1-7 start, and after they lost their best receiver, two best running backs and all-pro defensive tackle for the season.
But, here it is. At 4-7, the Panthers are just one game out of a wild-card spot. Minnesota or Green Bay -- whichever doesn't win that division -- will take one wild-card berth. Only the Giants and St. Louis, at 5-6, are ahead of Carolina for the other, though a handful of teams are tied with it at the moment. Only one of the Panthers' five remaining games is against a team with a winning record, and Atlanta, which the Panthers visit Dec. 18, isn't the most impressive 9-2 team in NFL history. The Rams come to the Panthers in two weeks, which by then could actually be a make-or-break game.
So, three questions: 1) Will the Panthers make the playoffs? 2) Do they have to run the table to make it, or is 8-8 good enough? 3) What does it say about the lack of quality teams in the NFC that I'm even posing these questions?