The Optimist: Meaningful December football

Dave Canales finally committed to the run against a superior opponent. Bryce Young delivered a precise-when-it-mattered and mistake-free game. This was the game we hoped for against the San Francisco 49ers and, instead, it showed up a week late and right on time as the Panthers head into their much needed bye week. For all that this win would never have happened without the offense stepping up, we can’t get out of the first paragraph without throwing credit to the defense. Most importantly, this wasn’t a victory without Derrick Brown doing Derrick Brown things.

Now say it with me everybody: “The Panthers are playing meaningful football in December.”

Once again, we are not going to pick nits on this win. Yes, Young wasn’t perfect. Yes, he also looked better than he did against the Saints and the 49ers. No, I don’t know what the actual difference between those levels of play is. Not for him. Mostly because he seems to so easily slip from one level to the other, even within the same game. We’ve got a whole bye-week to dissect that.

Right now, as Panthers fans, only one thing matters. Your favorite franchise is 7-6. That’s above .500 in December and playing for the NFC South crown over the holidays. They’re a half game behind the extremely vulnerable Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a week off to get healthy before their next game.

Three of the Panthers remaining four games are divisional games. That’s plenty of opportunity to build a division-winning resume over the Bucs, who have a similarly NFC South heavy slate to end the season. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the Bucs have a game each left against the Saints and the Falcons. Neither are good teams. Thanks to the Panthers earlier loss to the Saints, the Panthers will likely have to sweep the Bucs to actually take the division.

That’s a problem for later. For the next thirteen days, we get to exist in a reality where, if the Panthers win out, they are going to the playoffs. That was mildly true in December 2022 when interim head coach Steve Wilks (6-6) tried to dig the team out of the 1-4 hole that Matt Rhule dug on his way to Nebraska. Holes, of course, are smart business for that man as it is hard to throw players under the bus when you’re above it.

As for Carolina, their last real shot at the playoffs was in 2018. A mere seven years ago. That season fell off the rails before December and left fans in a now familiar state of disappointment while other teams were scrambling for wild card berths and divisional leads.

Let’s be clear. I don’t really expect the Panthers to make it. If they do then I don’t expect them to win in the wildcard round, or the divisional round, or the conference championship, or the Super Bowl. Neither do you. Approximately 72% of fans have somewhat consistently predicted a 7-9 win season since May. There was a brief crisis of faith after starting 0-2, but some surprising wins have put the team and fan expectations back on track.

Even 9 wins would likely not be enough to take the NFC South from the Bucs. Nine wins should, however, be considered a complete success. Not only would it eclipse the combined win totals of full time head coaches over the last three seasons ans exceed any individual season win total since 2017, it would also rise above eight wins in a season for only the eighth time in franchise history.

That’s right, the Carolina Panthers have only had seven winning seasons in going on thirty years of professional football. Their lack of back-to-back winning seasons isn’t exactly surprising when any winning season accounts for less than 30% of their time in the league.

This season has already been a success because it the team has elevated their reputation from afterthought to “team nobody wants to play.” That’s enough to build on over the offseason while the rest of spend gallons of metaphorical ink arguing over the future of Bryce Young. With four games left, the Carolina Panthers are playing with house money and have a good chance to piss off a lot of other teams. That’s a fantastic position to be in this December.

Now go off in the comments, because we have a whole week to marvel at the rise of Jalen Coker and debate the differences between Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle.