Subscribe
Follow Us
The Carolina Panthers went 7-9 in the 2018 season, finishing third in the NFC South and not making the playoffs. Meanwhile, the New Orleans Saints won the division with a 13-3 record.
2019 is a new season though and anything can happen. There are factors that could lean in the favor of the Panthers, and help them win the division.
Here are four reasons the Carolina Panthers could win the NFC South in 2019.
1: Two-Man Game of Cam Newton/Christian McCaffrey
This isn't just a running game. Yes, Cam Newton's one of the best running quarterbacks the NFL has seen in a long time. Yes, Christian McCaffrey is a monster when running the football. No, that's not all those two can do.
Newton's passing tends to get overlooked. Many write it off because they believe he'll never top 2015 – when he threw for almost 4,000 yards and had 35 touchdown passes compared to just 10 interceptions.
For comparison, Newton threw just 24 touchdowns compared to 13 interceptions in 2018. He also did so throwing for nearly 500 less yards.
What might not get as much notice though, is the completion percentage. Newton's 67.9 percent is 6.2 percent higher than his previous career-best. It's also proof that he's improving his accuracy and that the passing game with McCaffrey is helping.
McCaffrey meanwhile, ran for over 1,000 yards and scored seven touchdowns on the ground last season. That's not even the best part of his game though.
The running back caught a ridiculous 107 passes in 2018, picking up 867 receiving yards and six more touchdowns. This makes him a fantasy stud – which maybe makes people forget about how important he is in real games too.
With those two at the helm, the sky is the limit for the Carolina offense. They could help lead them to a few extra wins in 2019, and help steal the NFC South.
2: Saint Offensive Question Marks
I'm not saying it will happen – at some point Drew Brees needs to start declining though right? At least a little?
Even if that doesn't happen though, the New Orleans Saints now have a hole at running back without Mark Ingram. Latavius Murray is solid, but isn't the same animal.
Yes, of course Alvin Kamara is one of the best running backs in the NFL. The Saints don't want to run him into the ground though. That's what made the duo of Ingram and Kamara so deadly. They kept each other fresh and played well off each other's strengths. Murray is a similar runner to Ingram, but hasn't produced the same recently. It's tough to imagine the Saints will want to run him as much as they did Ingram.
If the running game suffers, the Saints defense becomes much more one-dimensional. That just puts more pressure on 40-year-old Drew Brees to continue performing at such a ridiculously high level.
3: Opponents
The Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints have a few different opponents on their 2019 schedules. Those games could make a big difference.
Article Continues Below
For example, the Panthers play the Green Bay Packers – who struggled last season and haven't addressed any roster issues yet this offseason. Meanwhile, the Saints NFC North division opponent are the Chicago Bears.
The Bears burst onto the scene last year after trading for Khalil Mack. They now have one of the most frightening defenses in football and are the perfect opponent to slow down the Saints.
Then the Saints have to play the Dallas Cowboys out of the NFC East, a team that looked strong to end 2018. The Panthers get a much easier opponent in the Washington Redskins – a team with multiple holes, including a blindingly glaring one at quarterback.
There are only a few differences like that on the schedule. However, those games could easily sway who wins the division. Those are two games the Panthers have a solid chance of winning, while the Saints could easily lose their matchups.
In the end, it's only a 16 game season. One or two games could make all the difference in the world.
4: Front Seven
Look at these names. Dontari Poe and Kawann Short. Bruce Irvin and Mario Addison. Shaq Thompson and, of course, Luke Kuechly.
Players like that will give the Carolina Panthers an extremely formidable defense. Poe and Short can both stop the run while also disrupting the quarterback.
Irvin is streaky but can cause a lot of problems for an offense, and Addison is only getting better with age. Shaq Thompson is an extremely gifted and athletic linebacker who can do a lot of things for the Panthers as well.
Then there's Kuechly. There's a reason he's been considered the best linebacker in football for quite a while now. The middle linebacker is an absolute menace in the running game. He can plug up holes and is one of the surest tacklers in all of football. He's also an incredibly gifted pass defender.
Kuechly's big enough to cover tight ends and athletic enough to cover receivers. There's really nothing he can't do.
With those players headlining the defense, the Panthers will always have a chance to stop their opponents. They'll also steal them a win or two when the offense is struggling.
As mentioned before, one or two wins could be the difference between first and second place.
