Carolina Panthers Just Might Troll The NFL All The Way To The Super Bowl [Opinion]
The Carolina Panthers clearly do not care about any “underdog” narrative, and at this point, neither should football fans.
That’s right, put away your stats regarding the regular season or even postseasons past. We are in a whole new world ladies and gentlemen, all thanks to a rather historical Panthers performance.
Understand, the Carolina Panthers are not the first team with a losing regular season record to make to the playoffs. The Seattle Seahawks managed this feat during the 2010-11 NFL season. But unlike the Seahawks, the Panthers were able to survive their first playoff game.
Of course, Carolina may have had some unintended help from their opponents.
By all accounts, the Arizona Cardinals were awful, bordering on embarrassingly dreadful. Apparently, the team was headed by a third-string quarterback, and the offense didn’t have the slightest clue what to do against the Panthers’ defense.
Thanks to the poor performance by the visiting team, the Carolina Panthers had a historic game. The defense for the Panthers managed to hold the Cardinals to just 78 yards. It’s the fewest yards obtained by a team in NFL post-season history.
Our defense set the NFL record for fewest yards allowed in a postseason game yesterday: http://t.co/GJdb6iMdO2 pic.twitter.com/EWIyg14aTO
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) January 4, 2015
But with the Cardinals being so terrible, no one wants to give the Panthers credit.
Why would they?
The Carolina Panthers did crawl out of the absolutely god-awful mess that was the entire NFC South. No matter what team survived the season-long race to the bottom, their success in the playoffs would always be suspect. And so the Carolina Panthers are tasked with proving that they are not a fluke.
That is a bit much to ask for most teams, but the Panthers have few psychological advantages that are being criminally overlooked. Consider the fact that Carolina came into the playoffs with a flawless December performance. With this win, the Panthers are now on a five-game winning streak.
Some disgruntled NFL fans may nitpick at the quality of their opponents, but remember that on any given Sunday, even the supposed best NFL team can lose. Also important to remember is that thing from regular season matters once the playoffs begin; all that matters is whether a team wins or loses. A team with a winning record is never immune to an upset.
As bad as the Arizona Cardinals were, no one really expected the Carolina Panthers to get past them. It’s quite possible that the Carolina Panthers could upset the Green Bay Packers or Seattle Seahawks.
"The truth of the matter is that we can play a whole lot better."
Ron Rivera talks #AZvsCAR: http://t.co/8MnWJs6mfd pic.twitter.com/uWf4Q7As5C
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) January 4, 2015
It’s also possible that Carolina could troll the entire NFL by becoming not only the first team with a losing record to make it to the Super Bowl, but win it as well. The team and fans seem to have a lot of belief going forward, and that mental toughness could make a big difference.
The Carolina Panthers have one other distinct advantage: They have nothing to lose, having gone farther than the previous team to make the playoffs with a losing record. At this stage, there’s no real pressure and certainly no expectation that the Carolina Panthers can go far.
The means by which the Carolina Panthers are overlooked and written off could prove deadly to future opponents. Do you think the Carolina Panthers have what it takes to make it to the Super Bowl? Why or why not?
[Image Credit: Carolina Panthers Twitter]
