Carolina Panthers receive good and bad news over the weekend

The Carolina Panthers benefit and suffer from other Week 10 outcomes across the league.

After kicking off the week on Thursday night with a disastrous performance in Pittsburgh, the Carolina Panthers were able to sit back and watch the rest of the NFL weekend unfold. The loss left Carolina another game behind NFC South leader New Orleans, depending on their outcome, and within striking distance of an Atlanta Falcons team on the rise.

In the overall NFC picture there were a few other games to keep an eye on for potential playoff standings. At 6-3, the Panthers remain in the mix and with seven games remaining, there is still time for the 2018 season to unfold in either direction. For the first time in franchise history, Carolina seems poised for back-to-back winning seasons but they must rebound from their disappointing performance against the Steelers.

First, the good news from Week 10 despite the loss to Pittsburgh.

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Atlanta was dismantled by a Cleveland Browns team led by rookies Baker Mayfield and Nick Chubb. It was arguably the most complete performance from the Browns in at least the last three years. The loss keeps Atlanta two games behind Carolina in the divisional and conference standings.

Seattle lost to Los Angeles. This outcome kept Carolina two games ahead of every current contender for the final playoff spot except Minnesota, who was on a bye. The Chicago victory over Detroit maintains their lead in the NFC North and sets up a huge divisional battle between the Bears and Vikings next week, where Panthers fans should be pulling for Chicago to continue their hold on the lead.

However, it wasn’t all rainbows and cupcakes.

As much fun as it was seeing the Falcons go down, Carolina must also visit Cleveland and by then the Browns may pose a serious threat but that doesn’t happen for four more weeks, so what outcomes hurt now.

Besides the obvious let down of their own, Carolina suffered from a New Orleans win and new found element to the Green Bay Packers offense during their victory. The Saints impressive win over Cincinnati came on the road and pushed their NFC South division lead to two games over the Panthers.

Carolina fans will want to keep an eye on the NFC North race as well. The Packers found a ground game with Aaron Jones and paired with the always dangerous Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, this team may be poised to challenge both Chicago and Minnesota. A logjam among these teams could interfere with the Panthers opportunity to grab a wild card spot in the playoffs.

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The loss at Pittsburgh wasn’t fatal but Carolina needs to rebound next week as time is running out for teams to make their case for the playoffs.

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