Monday Night Football provides extra motivation for the Carolina Panthers.
The Carolina Panthers are in the midst of their worst losing streak since 2014, when they lost six in a row but managed to still make the playoffs. A similar occurrence could happen this season as Carolina would regain some footing and hope with a victory over NFC South leading New Orleans on Monday night.
The Saints are 11-2 but Carolina has played much better inside Bank of America Stadium and will also benefit from knowing how the outcome impacts their current standing. A win would leave them in the thick of a battle for the playoffs while another loss would potentially be devastating.
Currently, the Panthers only cling to about a nine-percent chance of making the playoffs but a win increases that significantly and based on other results would provide a spark for the final two weeks of the regular season. Even three straight wins would not guarantee a playoff berth as Carolina needs some help along their way.
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Losses by Minnesota, Washington, Philadelphia and Green Bay would give the Panthers a huge boost of momentum leading up to kickoff on Monday night. These favorable results would push the Panthers chances of getting into the playoffs up over 50-percent according to the FiveThirtyEight simulator.
None of these are out of the question with Minnesota facing a tough Miami team, Green Bay up against their division leader at Chicago, in addition to Washington and Philadelphia playing with backup quarterbacks. While Carolina knows they need a win, getting to see how an outcome effects the current standing is beneficial – if each of those teams wins, a loss eliminates the Panthers.
Coach Ron Rivera is 5-2 on Monday night and after a disappointing Thursday night performance in front of a national audience at Pittsburgh, Carolina has something to prove. Many across the country were only able to see a Panthers team get routed by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers. While Drew Brees provides a tough test of his own, some extra motivation should be present for the Panthers under the lights.
The Panthers and Saints kick off Monday Night Football at 8:15pm to conclude Week 15 play.