Carolina Panthers: Thursday night game crucial to season
As the Carolina Panthers head into the second half of their schedule, one game particularly sticks out. A Thursday Night Football matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers is crucial to their season.
The 6-2 Carolina Panthers have been a minor surprise of the 2018 NFL season. The defense has run teams into the ground, and Cam Newton is looking true to form as a cannon-armed, play-making quarterback. The Panthers clearly have playoff aspirations this season, but they still have a second half of a schedule to play.
Fortunately for the Panthers, the final eight games are mostly winnable. Two games against the streaking New Orleans Saints could give the Panthers some traction in the NFC South. Just one game behind, the Panthers have a good chance to catch the Saints before the season’s end.
Matchups with the Buccaneers, Lions, and Browns should be contests that Panthers fans have circled as major opportunities. But one game sticks out above the rest, and it just so happens to be on primetime. In Week 10, the Panthers will travel to Heinz Field for a clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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As the leaders of the AFC North, the Steelers have a lot riding on this game. Due to a tie in Week 1, the Steelers have only a half-game lead on the Cincinnati Bengals in the division. Not only are the Bengals in Pittsburgh’s rear-view mirror, but they’re due for a head-on collision with Pittsburgh in Week 17.
The Steelers and Bengals have to match pace with each other all the way through the season, and the Panthers can play spoiler in Week 10. A Panthers win on Thursday Night Football could leave Carolina tied with New Orleans in the NFC South by the time Week 10 is over. Thursday Night Football could also leave them two full games behind the Saints, and firmly in the dust of the NFC South.
Week 10 is pivotal to the Carolina Panthers’ season. Not only do they have a chance to nearly catch the New Orleans Saints, but whatever happens, they get ten full days to think about it afterwards. Cam Newton, Christian McCaffrey and the rest of the offense need to show out in this game to have a chance to compete against Ben Roethlisberger and his weapons.
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The Panthers will either have to match the offensive explosion that is the Pittsburgh Steelers, or somehow slow them down. As if the stakes of a primetime contest weren’t already high enough, the fate of Carolina’s season could very well rest on this one game.