Panthers didn’t get much help during bye week – and they shouldn’t count on any

For a good chunk of Sunday afternoon it sure looked like the Carolina Panthers would move up without doing a thing.

And then Washington fell apart in the din of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Washington’s meltdown in New Orleans was just the latest reminder that in the NFL you can’t count on anyone else – especially a Jay Gruden-coached team.

A Washington victory would have moved the Panthers (7-3) into a tie for first in the NFC South.

Instead, the Saints (8-2) rallied for a 34-31 overtime decision that was their eighth win in a row and pushed their lead to one game over the idle Panthers.

The Saints erased a 15-point deficit with less than three minutes left, as quarterback Drew Brees completed 11-of-11 passes on two touchdown drives to tie it.

Washington looked to be on the verge of winning at the end of regulation, before an intentional grounding penalty and strip-sack on quarterback Kirk Cousins took it out of field goal range.

Inevitable?

By that point, everyone from Fox color analyst Troy Aikman to the full-throated denizens of the Superdome knew how things would end.

And somewhere in Charlotte, Panthers coach Ron Rivera was saying, “I told you so.”

Rivera, like every coach everywhere, is not big on looking past the next opponent.

A reporter asked Rivera about how the Panthers and Saints seemed to be on a collision course in the South.

Rivera didn’t disagree. But he also said what matters most is what goes on each week inside Bank of America Stadium.

“We have to keep pace, obviously,” Rivera said. “And the only way you can do that is focus in on the game that you’re playing and see what happens after that.”

With no one to focus on during their Week 11 bye, Panthers players and coaches had a chance to check out other games Sunday.

Tight end Greg Olsen got a firsthand look at the Rams and Vikings by working as a guest analyst for Fox’s broadcast in Minneapolis. (Olsen’s cameo was well received by everyone except Vikings GM Rick Spielman, incidentally.)

The Panthers didn’t get much help.

A pair of NFC North teams in the playoff hunt – Minnesota (8-2) and Detroit (6-4) – both won, although Green Bay (5-5) was shut out at home by Baltimore.

Self-help is best

As the Panthers prepare for the stretch run, they’re well aware that self-help is the most reliable assistance this time of year.

Even when the Panthers scratched out a playoff berth in 2014 with a losing record, they did so by winning their last four regular-season games.

That means before Carolina gets all geeked about the Dec. 3 showdown with the Saints in New Orleans, there is first the matter of a Thanksgiving weekend matchup with the Jets in East Rutherford, N.J.

Olsen, who has been out since breaking his foot in a Week 2 victory over Buffalo, could be activated from injured this week before the Jets game.

Olsen will test his foot during Monday’s practice. If all goes well, he’ll rejoin his teammates Wednesday when the Jets (4-6) preparations begin in earnest.

Rivera also is hopeful injured center Ryan Kalil (neck) and speed receiver Damiere Byrd (forearm) will be back for the playoff push.

Following the trip to New York/New Jersey, the Panthers close the regular season with five consecutive games against NFC opponents, beginning with the Saints.

Before they took off for the long weekend, several Panthers players said they were keeping a close eye on the surging Saints.

One of those players – right guard Trai Turner – was headed to his New Orleans hometown for a few days of R&R.

“We’ll see those guys again,” Turner said. “It’ll be a good game and at the end of the season the chips are going to fall where they may.”

This story was originally published November 19, 2017 at 6:57 PM with the headline "Panthers didn’t get much help during bye week – and they shouldn’t count on any."