5 NFL teams poised for a fall in 2016

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Feb 7, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) reacts after the game against the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50 at Levi /

87. . NFC. South. Carolina Panthers. 3. player

Are the Carolina Panthers still a playoff team in 2016? Yes, but they won’t go 15-1 again in 2016. Everybody in the NFC is out to get the Panthers this year and it should cost Carolina at least a few games in the win/loss column.

Carolina’s 2016 schedule isn’t particularly easy. The NFC South is always tough and the Atlanta Falcons, the New Orleans Saints, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would love anything to not see the Panthers win the division for the fourth year in a row.

The AFC West and the NFC West are on the schedule for the 2016 Panthers including road trips to Denver and Seattle. Since Carolina won the NFC South in 2015, they will also have to play Washington and Minnesota to round out their schedule for competitive balance.

Carolina will fall back to Earth in some capacity in 2016 mostly on the notion that it will be insanely difficult to replicate last year’s 15-1 NFC Championship season. Sure, going 16-0 and winning Super Bowl LI in Houston is possible, but so is going 11-5 and only getting into the NFC Playoffs as a No. 5 seed. The Panthers should make the NFC Playoffs, but it would be remarkable if they got back-to-back No. 1 seeds in 2016.

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