I was not at all surprised when Carolina lost to the Seattle Seahawks over the weekend. I was surprised that they managed to keep the game close for a full half and was quite impressed that they were able to hold the Seattle side to just 3 points in a full two quarters of play.
I was not at all surprised when they then had 2 back-to-back turnovers that both resulted in touchdowns for the Seahawks and completely crushed any notions that the Panthers were going to pull off a shock upset that would have pushed the flailing Carolina team into the playoffs with a top finish in the NFC South.
I don't think anyone really enjoys a game that goes a full half with just one field goal for each team and a halftime score of 3-3 but for a Carolina fan like me that has absolutely zero faith in their team this was a pretty fantastic nail-biting situation that I knew it was only a matter of time before they screwed it up.
When Carolina got an interception early in the 3rd quarter I was thinking to myself "what is going on here? Seattle is a Super-Bowl favorite and Carolina is a laughing stock." Then just a few plays later the Panthers did what the Panthers always do and had 2 consecutive turnovers that both resulted in TD's and this close game turned into the blowout that it was always expected it would be.
The game ended with a final score of 27-10 but let's be honest here, that game could have been 27-3 but Seattle, already comfortably ahead by 14 points, perhaps let off the gas a bit in the 4th quarter when Carolina scored their one and only touchdown in the entire game.
The Buccaneers, who are tied with Carolina for the top spot in the truly awful NFC South, were playing against Miami at the same time that Carolina was playing, and the management in the Charlotte stadium decided to not display the score of that game as if the people in the stands don't have phones and internet access. It was simply ceremonial for sure but it was indicative of how important these two games are for the division. Had Tampa Bay won their game vs. Miami, and they really should, Tampa would clinch the division and that would be that. But Tampa, who is almost as unreliable as Carolina is, also lost their game to the Dolpins.
I suppose this is kind of a best case scenario for Carolina fans because now in week 17, the final week of regular play, the game that Carolina has vs. Tampa Bay in Tampa, is of the utmost importance on the season. The post-season chances of both teams will be determined in this game. With a win the Panthers will go through to the playoffs and vice-versa.
I want us to reflect on how truly awful the NFC South this season. Take special note of the net points section and notice how ever team is in the red as far as points scored vs points scored against is concerned. This is the ONLY division in the NFL where every single team has scored fewer points than their opponents. It is one of the only times in the history of the NFL that every single team in a division has been this terrible.
No matter who it is that advances, it is basically assumed that they are going to get absolutely destroyed in the first round of the playoffs. Early on in the season Tampa appeared to be the only "decent" team in the division but as you can see above, they have lost their last 4 games and it appears as though they aren't even trying.
The next weekend has the opportunity to be kind of exciting for both Tampa and Carolina fans, because only the truly foolhardy have some sort of notion that either one of these teams have a shot in hell of advancing beyond the first round. The Vegas odds of a Tampa Bay Super-Bowl Championship is currently at +10,000 and Carolina is even worse at +20,000. To put things into perspective, the Vegas odds of a Seattle Super-Bowl victory, is at +600. Seattle has the highest net points differential of any team in the NFL with 181 more points scored for than against. This is what makes it so crazy that Carolina, at least for a little while (a whole half) looked like they were actually being competitive in that game.
So I am looking forward to next week's game in Tampa and for me that is, regardless of the outcome, the final week for Carolina and fully expect them to completely screw it up. I think it would be better for them if they did screw lose and spare themselves the embarrassment of getting decimated in the first round of the playoffs.
At the moment the Vegas odds are in favor of Tampa, but only slightly at -3 in favor of the Bucs.