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5 NFL teams on upset alert in Week 16

By Cody Williams

Dec 20, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) is all smiles after third quarter touchdown against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Carolina Panthers defeat the New York Giants 38-35. Mandatory Credit: Jim O
Dec 20, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) is all smiles after third quarter touchdown against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Carolina Panthers defeat the New York Giants 38-35. Mandatory Credit: Jim O /
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Dec 20, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) is all smiles after third quarter touchdown against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Carolina Panthers defeat the New York Giants 38-35. Mandatory Credit: Jim O
Dec 20, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) is all smiles after third quarter touchdown against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Carolina Panthers defeat the New York Giants 38-35. Mandatory Credit: Jim O /

These five NFL teams should be put on upset alert in Week 16

There are only two weeks left in the 2015 NFL season and, as the league enters Week 16, things are bound to get more than a little crazy. Between teams feeling the effects of a long season in terms of injuries and general fatigue and the fact that some teams may start resting key players over the last two weeks, upsets could come in abundance starting in Week 16.

However, the question that’s on the mind of virtually every NFL fan coming into these final two weeks of the season is whether or not the Carolina Panthers are going to finish the season undefeated. They narrowly avoided blowing a big lead in Week 15 and have found themselves in a handful of close calls in recent weeks. That said, they are still 14-0 heading into Week 16 and Cam Newton is still performing like the undeniable MVP of the league.

In Week 16, the Panthers will be on the road to face the Atlanta Falcons in a NFC South matchup that has lost must of its luster considering the dramatic drop off of the Falcons after a hot start to the year. However, the Panthers are again going to be without Jonathan Stewart in this game and Ted Ginn Jr. is banged up and questionable to play.

Considering that the Panthers offense has been short on weapons for the entirety of the season after a preseason injury to Kelvin Benjamin, the fact that two of their biggest weapons could potentially be out for this game seems like it could potentially put their perfect record in jeopardy. Then you look at the Falcons and how they’ve been playing over the second half of the season, though, and it becomes much less worrisome.

If there’s one advantage that the Falcons have over any team that the play on a given week, it’s the immense talent of Julio Jones and what he’s capable of doing in the receiving game on a weekly basis. With Josh Norman still suiting up on the opposite side of the ball for the Panthers, that advantage is largely nullified for Atlanta. There just doesn’t seem like a plausible way that Carolina loses in Week 16.

However, there are 15 other games this week in the NFL and there are going to be upsets because it’s just simply that time of year. With that in mind, these five NFL teams should be on upset alert in Week 16 of the 2015 NFL season.

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