Carolina Panthers – Don’t Freakout

by Harris Oates

There really isn’t a good way that I can put the Carolina Panthers’ 52-21 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers into words. It took me a solid 72 hours of deep thought to wrap my mind around it, but I have now come to a conclusion of what actually happened. An embarrassment. That’s it, an embarrassment, and I mean that in the most optimistic way possible. The Panthers are so much better than how they played. Yes, it was tough to watch, but ultimately, they were riding a little too high too early and were due for a loss. Now, they will need to capitalize on the 10-day break leading up to the crucial conference matchup against the Detroit Lions, or else this embarrassing loss may turn into a serious power shift in the NFC.

The Cardiac Cats seem to keep most games extremely close, whether it ends with a heart crushing loss or an exhilarating victory. The recent hot streak plays into why this loss seems to sting a little bit worse than usual. The thing that most fans haven’t realized yet is this loss is rather meaningless, and will serve as a major reality check. Listen Panthers fans, your team is good. Don’t let this one embarrassing loss discourage you from enjoying the rest of the season. It’s time to move on, get this one out of your system, and start looking forward to the Lions. Below I will discuss in detail why this was bad, but nothing worse than an embarrassing loss.

Playoff Seeding

Like I mentioned earlier, the Panthers have posted a respectable 6-3 record with key victories over the Eagles and Cowboys. With the Saints looking extremely dominant, it seems like there is a good chance the Panthers will be fighting for that top Wild Card spot against the Eagles, Vikings, Seahawks, Falcons, Lions and Cowboys. With the Lions, Seahawks and Falcons all coming up on the Panthers schedule, a loss to the AFC’s Steelers will have very little effect on playoff standings.

Short Week

Don’t forget this was a Thursday Night Football matchup. Weird things happen on Thursdays and it typically favors the home team. Look for Carolina to bounce back against the Lions after a long break. Coming off three huge victories, it felt like the Panthers were due a loss and if there is a good game to lose it would be Thursday Night against the Steelers. After hearing stirs of how this season compares to the 2015 Super Bowl run, it was time to revamp and return to taking things week to week.

Mismatch

Along with the short week, the Steelers might offer the Panthers their most unfavorable matchup of the season. The Panthers’ secondary was mismatched all night against Brown, Smith-Schuster and Switzer. Although Dante Jackson has had a great start to his NFL career, Antonio Brown is going to be a mismatch for almost any corner in the NFL. Along with that, Cam’s biggest weakness is heavy pressure in the pocket, and there was a lot of that with Pittsburgh’s strong D-Line.

Antonio Brown was a nightmare of a matchup. Image from Steelerswire.

Cam Newton and Christian McCaffrey

Even in the blowout loss, both Newton and McCaffrey had good games. I know, Cam threw a costly pick six early in the game, but he finished the game 23-29 with 2 TD’s. McCaffrey finished with 138 total yards and 3 TD’s. These two offensive threats are having amazing seasons and represent the most improved offense in the NFL. If the Panthers offense can stand behind this duo, big things await.

Only November

Panther fans must remember, it is only November. The Panthers are going to lose games, that is just the NFL. A team learns twice as much from a loss than a win, and after an emotional first 9 games they will get a chance to take a long week to recover and get ready for a meaningful NFC matchup in Detroit. It was a bad loss, but the Steelers are a great team and fortunately the Panthers will not face them again in the regular season. This loss will not matter in the long run, rather how they bounce back after the loss. The Panthers have a favorable 4 game stretch approaching with the Lions, Seahawks, Browns and Bucs. They look to catch fire again, which may be much needed with a Saints, Falcons, Saints finish to the regular season. As all Panthers fans know, no playoff spot is given and everything must be earned in the NFC South. It’s time to buckle up for the final stretch and #KeepPounding.

Harris is a recent graduate of Birmingham-Southern College. He now works in Birmingham as well as coaches lacrosse for Mountain Brook High School. He loves following SEC football, and covering fantasy football and the NFL Draft. He is also a lifelong Carolina Panthers fan.