The Carolina Panthers have rekindled the ol’ flames of hope.
A much needed win against the Denver Broncos—and a dominant one, at that—have reentered interim head coach Steve Wilks and his guys into the NFC South race. Oh, and the fact that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints all chalked up Week 12 losses didn’t exactly hurt.
This is quite the turnaround for a team that was seemingly dead in the water just a week ago, especially after turning to their third different starting quarterback of the season. But a kickstart from (and a possible rebirth of) Sam Darnold helped push the Panthers to 4-8 and just a game and a half out of first.
Carolina’s chances of making the playoffs have now increased from 3 percent to 8 percent, according to The New York Times‘ playoff simulator. And although that is a small number, it is not insignificant.
At 3-1 in divisional play, the Panthers have a relatively clear path to the postseason. If they can string together against a pretty mild schedule and the rest of the South continues to struggle, it is not out of the realm of possibility that Carolina can take their strengths and this booming defense straight to the top of this messy heap.
In the grand scheme of contention, this team is obviously not a serious contender for a Lombardi Trophy. But after seemingly accepting a lowly journey to 2023’s No. 1 overall pick, Panthers fans should be experiencing a breath of fresh air from the competitive and spirited ball under Wilks and company.
