A grueling Panthers season is about to come to a merciful end against New Orleans
The last time the Carolina Panthers played New Orleans was only five weeks ago.
But since then, Panthers owner David Tepper has fired Ron Rivera. At quarterback, Will Grier has replaced Kyle Allen. Carolina has seen its losing streak go from three games to seven. And New Orleans has sailed on to a 12-3 record, with the No. 1 NFC playoff seed still in play for the Saints on the final day of the regular season.
The Panthers and Saints have had an amazingly even rivalry. For 25 seasons, they have played each other twice a year, plus one playoff matchup. After 50 games, they are tied at 25 wins apiece.
But it has been all Saints for the past few years, as New Orleans has gone 5-1 over the past six games.
Some notes on the season finale:
▪ Both coaches say they are going to play their starters: Sean Payton because the Saints need to win and Carolina interim head coach Perry Fewell because he doesn’t want the year to end on an eight-game losing streak, with the last four coming on his watch.
▪ In the first matchup, the Panthers played well but lost, 34-31, in part because Joey Slye missed a short field goal and two extra points. Since then, however, Slye has made 13 consecutive kicks – eight extra points and five field goals.
▪ Losing would be better for the Panthers’ draft position, which will be decided after Sunday’s results. But it’s important to remember that doesn’t matter to the players at all. They are playing for their jobs, and they also know that about 25 to 40 percent of them won’t even be with the Panthers in 2020.
▪ The Panthers’ run defense has been absolutely atrocious and yet their pass rush somehow still continues to lead the NFL in getting to the quarterback. The Panthers have 52 sacks entering the season’s final week – one ahead of Pittsburgh and three ahead of New Orleans and the L.A. Rams. The Saints have a good shot at catching Carolina today, though, given the state of the Panthers’ offensive line and the fact that Drew Brees gets rid of the ball so quickly.
▪ Prediction time Part 1: I think the Panthers are going to make darn sure that Christian McCaffrey gets the 67 receiving yards he needs to become the third member of the NFL’s “1,000-1,000” club. But I think McCaffrey will fall short of the 216 yards he would need to break Chris Johnson’s all-time record for total yards from scrimmage in a single season.
▪ Prediction time Part 2: I made a really bad mistake last week by thinking the Panthers had any chance to beat Indianapolis and thus dropped to 10-5 on the season picking Carolina games.
As for this season finale, the Panthers are just too far gone at this point. New Orleans needs a win and also has never minded rubbing Carolina’s nose in it. My pick: New Orleans 37, Carolina 13.