The Panthers don’t appear ready to face a team like the Saints, who have dominated Carolina and the rest of the NFC South for three seasons running. Nevertheless, they’re next on the schedule. While the team’s 2019 playoff hopes are basically finished, this is still a critical game for the franchise.
There are a ton of questions about where the Panthers are going and how they’ll manage their most important assets as the regular season winds down. Here are seven we will be keeping in mind on Sunday.
1. Will the Saints close the door on the division again?
New Orleans comes into this matchup with a significant lead over Carolina in the division race. A win would push their lead over the Panthers to four games with only five left to play in the season. With both the Falcons and the Buccaneers out of the picture, that means the Saints can effectively clinch their third straight division title on Sunday. On the flip side, the Panthers have a chance to play the spoiler. Their odds aren’t great. At the moment, they’re 9.5-point underdogs.
2. Can Kyle Allen bounce back after his worst game yet?
If the Panthers are going to pull off an extremely unlikely upset, they’re going to need their quarterback to perform far better than he did last week. According to Football Outsiders, it was the worst QB game they’ve ever tracked. Kyle Allen has bounced back before after a bad game, though. After making several excruciating mistakes late in Green Bay, he came back strong against the Titans in a 10-point win. Allen is not a superstar who can carry a team on his back. He does have to stop giving the ball away, though. He’s averaging two turnovers per start.
3. Will the Panthers keep Christian McCaffrey fresh?
The absolute worst thing that can happen to the Panthers over these last six games is for Christian McCaffrey to get injured. Running backs are generally considered disposable by NFL teams, but McCaffrey is a unique case and at the moment is the single most irreplaceable piece on the roster. Ron Rivera has to be careful about managing his touches. If the game gets out of hand in the second half, Rivera can’t hesitate to yank McCaffrey off the field to keep him healthy for the long run. It’s time to see what fifth-round pick Jordan Scarlett can do, in any case.
4. Is Dennis Daley the left tackle of the future?
One of Marty Hurney’s better moves this year was taking two true left tackles in the draft. Second-round pick Greg Little has seen his development slowed by a concussion that’s kept him out for most of the season. That was apparent in his struggles last week against Atlanta. Fortunately, sixth-rounder Dennis Daley has exceeded all expectations and performed extremely well on the blind side. He sat out against the Falcons though and was limited in practice on Wednesday, so his status for this week is uncertain. If he’s available, Rivera should replace Little with Daley and give him an opportunity to prove he might be the left tackle of the future.
5. When will Brian Burns get more playing time?
Another rookie that deserves a greater share of playing time is first-round pick Brian Burns. Over the last two weeks, Burns has only been on the field for 27 total defensive snaps. With the protective club off and his wrist seemingly healthy, there’s no excuse for Burns to spend that much time on the sidelines. Bruce Irvin has done a fine job this year, but developing Burns has to be a higher priority. Who knows? He might even make a game-changing play or two.
6. Have they finally figured out how to stop the run?
The Panthers did a much better job stopping the run against Atlanta. The Falcons dominated every other facet of the game but they were limited to just 2.1 yards per carry. However, Atlanta is a bad running team and they were playing without their top two backs. The Saints are another story and have a potent two-headed monster in Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray. Both are challenging to tackle in different ways and will put Carolina’s front seven to the test. Rivera finally got back to using four-man fronts last week and should double down on it.
7. Can Ron Rivera cool off his increasingly hot seat?
The big story following Carolina’s failure on Sunday was owner David Tepper holding court with some local media. Tepper said that he will not accept long-term mediocrity. Unfortunately, that seems to be the defining dynamic for a franchise that has yet to post two winning seasons in a row. Teppper already has plenty of reasons to move on from Rivera after 2019. If he doesn’t close out the season strong, his position will be in serious jeopardy. Winning against the Saints would at least give Rivera some breathing room.
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