Five reasons why the Carolina Panthers won’t be the top seed in the NFC

1. Cannot depend on Cam every week

There’s no question that Cam Newton is the leading MVP candidate in the league this season, but he cannot win the NFC’s top seed all by himself. The talent level is there, now it’s time to step up to the challenge.

You can expect Newton to make plays with his feet, as he is the best in the NFL at running (427 rushing yards with 7 TDs) the read-option offense. Newton keeps the mistakes to a minimum, which helps the team to stay close in any contest. Unfortunately, the passing game doesn’t have a legitimate playmaker that allows him to have a deeper impact on the outcome of a game. He has the arm strength to pick part most defenses, but the Panthers aerial attack doesn’t have enough talent surrounding Newton to exploit even the shakiest defensive secondary.

Since his arrival in Charlotte, the Panthers have gradually improved each season. This year, Newton is playing out of his mind and living up to the No.1 overall pick hype. He is having his best statistical season (2466 passing yards with 20 touchdowns and 9 interceptions), and shown tremendous growth as both a quarterback and team leader.

One of the keys to the Panthers success is that Newton has the offense operating at its most efficient level. His approach remains simple each week, strictly focusing on the next opponent, but now that formula might be changing as the media will turn their attention to Carolina following the New England Patriots loss in Denver.