Carolina Panthers will win NFC South by tie or improbable victory
By Dan Salem
The Carolina Panthers will win the NFC South by tie or improbable victory, besting the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints. The NFL’s craziest division will come down to the bitter end. Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL TD Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream and debate the NFL and sports.
TODD:
The 6-8-1 Carolina Panthers are traveling to Atlanta to face off against the 6-9 Falcons in the biggest game of the week 17 NFL slate.
The winner is in the playoffs as the fourth seed in the NFC. The loser…is probably fired. Both these teams have been so horrendously shoddy, it wouldn’t surprise me if this game turned into a literal ‘loser leaves town’ match. I mean, could Mike Smith be any more of a detriment to the success of the Falcons at this point?
But a simple victory for either the Panthers or Falcons doesn’t seem deserving of the NFC South division. Why should anything so dirty finish so cleanly?
Instead, the proper finish to the season would be if Carolina and Atlanta tie while New Orleans defeats the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
If that situation arises, Carolina becomes 6-8-2, topping the 6-9-1 Falcons but tying the 7-9 New Orleans Saints in win percentage. The NFL awards half a win for a tie, which is why the Panthers’ current win percentage is 0.433. At 6-8-2, their win percentage would be 0.4375, identical to the 7-9 Saints.
How about it? Is there any other way this division should finish? Is it right that a team with fewer wins should grab a tie? Is there another way this should be broken rather than some third-level tiebreaker since the teams split their season series?
Existentially, is it better to win a game or avoid losing a game? This is some real deep, metaphysical stuff right here.
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DAN:
I want to see the New Orleans Saints in the playoffs just as much as the next guy, but a second tie for the Carolina Panthers seems far too unlikely a final scenario. Instead I’m in favor of a dramatic and goofy end to the Panthers game with the Atlanta Falcons. Its only fitting that the NFC South division crown be decided on the field between division opponents. One can view the division as abysmal, but on the flip side, three of four teams are practically even.
The crazy and overdramatic ending that is about to befall the Falcons vs Panthers game should ring true to Matt Ryan and Boston College fans everywhere. Ryan won an insane game against Virginia Tech back in college, in monsoon conditions, on back to back Hail Mary type throws to ultimately score the winning touchdown for his BC Eagles.
Today, against rival Carolina, Ryan will be forced to watch as his late game interception gives Cam Newton an opportunity to achieve similar glory. With the score tied at 30 and only one minute left on the clock, Newton will toss improbable throws to get his team in position. But unlike Ryan who won with his arm, and unlike most games that end on field goals, this battle will be won by Cam Newton’s legs. Newton runs in the winning score and the Carolina Panthers will return to the playoffs.
Whether by tie, or by improbable victory, I see a Panthers’ celebration. They looked lost all season, only to hang around as their division rivals squandered multiple opportunities to overtake them. But that’s the NFL in a nutshell and this division is falling to the team who held on longest.