16-0? At least one Carolina Panthers player says it’s a strong possibility

When he talked with his teammates before the Carolina Panthers’ 33-14 victory at Dallas on Thursday, defensive tackle Dwan Edwards had the sense on the sideline the Panthers were going to beat the Cowboys convincingly.

Edwards is getting another strong sense these days – that the Panthers can join the 2007 New England Patriots as the only teams to finish the regular season 16-0.

“You look at guys and see their demeanor and how they’re going about things, I just knew we were going to have a great game and you start getting the feeling, who’s going to beat us?” Edwards said Friday. “And it’s going to be on us to keep our focus and continue to play the way we’re playing. Obviously it starts with the Saints next week.”

The Panthers, who improved to 11-0 with their handling of the Cowboys, have stuck with the one-game-at-a-time mantra that Ron Rivera – and every other coach – preaches.

But as they creep closer to Week 17 without a loss, the Panthers will face more and more questions about the prospects of joining New England and the 1972 Dolphins as the only teams in the Super Bowl era to run through the regular season undefeated.

The Dolphins went 14-0 during the regular season before going on to win the Super Bowl for the NFL’s only perfect season. The 2007 Patriots were 18-0 when they lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.

Edwards, an 11-year veteran in his fourth season with Carolina, likes the Panthers’ chances to run the table.

“The way our team’s playing it’s going to take us to not play well on Sunday for a team to beat us,” he said.

The Panthers aren’t the league’s only unbeaten team. New England takes a 10-0 record into a Sunday night matchup at Denver.

There were four undefeated teams three weeks ago, the first time in NFL history there were four teams with 7-0 records.

But the Broncos (8-2) dropped two in a row, to Indianapolis and Kansas City, and Cincinnati (8-2) also lost consecutive games, to Houston and Arizona, the past two weeks.

Meanwhile, the Panthers have kept trucking along.

“Right now we’re a hot team and a very confident team, and I like where we’re at mentally and emotionally,” safety Roman Harper said. “We’ve just got to keep it going. We just keep stacking them as we go. It’s still just 11. We still can lose like four or five.”

Although the opening betting lines had Carolina as a one-point underdog to Dallas (3-8), the Panthers should be favored in their five remaining regular-season games, beginning next weekend at New Orleans.

The schedule includes four division games and a Dec. 20 trip to New York to face the Giants, who are in first place in the NFC East with a 5-5 record.

The Panthers’ remaining opponents have a winning percentage of .520 (26-24). That includes two games against the Falcons (6-4), the only team left on the schedule with a winning record.

New England’s six upcoming opponents have a winning percentage of .459 (28-33). Like Carolina, the Patriots’ schedule includes only one team above .500, the Broncos.

“New England’s a great team. I think we’re a great team as well. I’m looking forward to what the rest of the season has for us,” Harper said. “You can’t get worried about all these other teams and all these records. We’re all just trying to get to the playoffs and have the highest seed we can have.”

Harper was a member of the 2009 Saints, who started 13-0 before losing their final three regular-season games. After resting their starters in a Week 17 defeat to the Panthers, New Orleans rolled through the playoffs and beat Indianapolis for the Saints’ only Super Bowl title.

The Panthers can clinch a playoff spot this weekend depending on the results of several games and could have the NFC South wrapped up before their first meeting with Atlanta on Dec. 13.

But Rivera isn’t looking that far ahead.

“I’ve heard people talking about resting players. We’re going to play the guys the way we have to play them and we’ll determine that as we get to each game,” he said. “Sure, standings will impact it and affect it. We can’t expect anybody to lose or get beat. If we take care of our business everything will fall into place.”

Tight end Greg Olsen said although Panthers players aren’t discussing the possibility of a perfect season, that’s the goal – and it’s getting closer every week.

“Listen, we’re going to try to win them all. That’s for sure. We’re going to prepare and we’re going to fight as hard as we can every week to win every game we play. That’s the reality of it,” Olsen said.

“Looking at 16 when you’re in Week 13 is a lot easier than when you’re in Week 2 or 3 for sure. But you can’t win 16 if you don’t win 12.”

This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 5:40 PM with the headline "16-0? At least one Carolina Panthers player says it’s a strong possibility."