(AP Photo/Bob Leverone)
The Carolina Panthers are giving us heart attacks, don’t ya think?
Honestly, I cannot tell whether the Panthers are a good football team or a great one. The way they have played over the last three weeks is mind-boggling and head-scratching. They are 4-2, but could as easily by 2-4 or 3-3 or 5-1 after dramatic finishes against the Giants, Redskins and Eagles.
Sunday’s game was the most perplexing. After looking inept and being shut out 17-0 after three quarters, Cam Newton led three beautiful touchdown drives to go ahead 21-17 with under two minutes to play. Then after allowing the Eagles to storm back down the field to the red zone, on third-and-goal and fourth-and-goal from Carolina’s two-yard line, Philly QB Carson Wentz threw two incompletions. They had two plays to run it in and chose the pass on both snaps.
The Panthers lost in a similar manner the week before when they were on the door step of the Redskins’ end zone but two poorly thrown passes by Newton sent them home from Washington, D.C., with a demoralizing defeat. Now they were going to Philadelphia to take on the defending Super Bowl champions, who were a tougher road opponent than the Redskins.
This madness all started three weeks ago when the Panthers squandered a big advantage to the hapless New York Giants, who took the lead by scoring with enough time to let Newton march his team into position for a field goal to pull out the game. The drive stalled just beyond mid-field, leaving Graham Gano with a career-long 63-yard attempt to pull out the game.
Gano made it easily to send the crowd at Bank of America Stadium into delirium, but the Panthers did not seem to learn much from that very close call. They fell behind the average Redskins and lost and then did nothing for three quarters against the Eagles. It’s hard to say what those three games mean right now because the Giants won’t make the playoffs and the Redskins and Eagles are barely hanging on.
For the Panthers, the remaining schedule seems just as narcotic. Seven of the nine games are against the Ravens, Lions, Steelers, Seahawks, Falcons and two against the Saints. Any sure wins in there? I don’t think so.
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