2018 NFL Power Rankings, Week 15: Cowboys hot, Steelers not
19. team. 87. . 6-7. Previous: . Carolina Panthers
Recap: The slide continued for Ron Rivera’s team as the team’s defensive unit continued to make things easy for the opposition. The Browns only had the football for 26:10 but averaged an impressive 7.7 yards per play. And even though the Panthers managed a pair of takeaways in this interconference tilt, the inability to stop the opposition on a consistent basis has really been this team’s downfall as of late. Second-year running back Christian McCaffrey had another productive day, scoring a pair of rushing touchdowns. Meanwhile, Cam Newton threw for 265 yards without a score. And his lone interception with roughly a minute to play ended any comeback hopes.
Next Week: Last season, three times wasn’t very charming for the Panthers when it came to the rival New Orleans Saints. The club fell twice during the regular season to Sean Payton’s crew and also saw their season end with a 31-26 wild card loss at the Superdome. It’s the first of two meetings in the final three weeks of 2018.
Playoff hopes: The Panthers are still alive when it comes to grabbing a wild card berth. But this is a team obviously headed in the wrong direction. A once-formidable defense continues to have its problems. At 6-2, the Panthers looked like they were on track for back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in team history. And now?
Next: No. 18