Will Carolina Rebound to Reach NFL Postseason?
October 7, 2016
Following last season’s appearance in the Super Bowl, expectations entering this season were very high for the Carolina Panthers. Odds makers made the Panthers one of the favorites during the preseason to win Super Bowl LI.
Many times teams that lose the Super Bowl have problems the following season, but nobody was expecting the Panthers to start the 2016 regular season this way.
With a record of 1-3 after four weeks of the regular season, it appears as though the Panthers are heading in the wrong direction and on the verge of falling out of the playoff picture completely.
The only team Carolina has managed to beat are the San Francisco 49ers, which is not something to be proud of. Just four teams are giving up more points each game than the 29.5 Carolina is allowing.
Last week, the Carolina pass defense was embarrassed by Matt Ryan the Atlanta quarterback who threw for over 500 yards with Julio Jones accumulating 300 yards on his own.
Cam Newton the Panthers’ starting quarterback has not had the mojo he had under center last season. This season he has 6 touchdowns and 5 interceptions through four weeks.
It appears Atlanta is the best team in the AFC South, and the Panthers are not expected to reach the postseason. Sportsbooks have Carolina at +125 to reach the playoffs, with the No sitting on -165.
Monday night Carolina plays Tampa Bay and could be without Newton who suffered a concussion last Sunday against Atlanta.
Carolina opened the season with odds of 12 to 1 to win the Super Bowl. However, those odds have since more than doubled and sit at 25 to 1 on most sportsbooks.
The record of 1-3 is not an impossibility to overcome, just ask Atlanta how seasons can change quickly. Last season, the Falcons began the season 5-0 before losing eight of 11 and ending the season 8-8.
However, Newton cannot increase his production and the Carolina defense continues to give up nearly 30 points per game, things will not get any better than they already are.
