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2021 NFL Power Rankings Week 8: Titans make another statement, Chiefs continue free fall

By Randy Gurzi

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - OCTOBER 24: Matthias Farley #21 and David Long #51 of the Tennessee Titans celebrate after Farley recovered a fumble in the second quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs in the game at Nissan Stadium on October 24, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - OCTOBER 24: Matthias Farley #21 and David Long #51 of the Tennessee Titans celebrate after Farley recovered a fumble in the second quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs in the game at Nissan Stadium on October 24, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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2021 NFL Power Rankings
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – OCTOBER 24: Sam Darnold #14 of the Carolina Panthers reacts on the bench during the second half in the game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on October 24, 2021 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

team. 87. . . Previous: 19th. Carolina Panthers. 23

So the honeymoon is officially over.

Sam Darnold looked to be a steal for the Carolina Panthers after three games. He had his team sitting on top of the world with a perfect 3-0 record. Then a loss to Dallas in Week 4 opened the floodgates as they are now in the midst of a four-game losing streak.

As if that’s not bad enough on its own, they haven’t been losing to powerhouses every week. Other than the Cowboys, the Panthers have not faced a team that has a winning record during their losing streak with the 3-3 Vikings serving as the second-best team they faced.

This weekend, they were on the road against the New York Giants who were just 1-5. That changed for them as they made it look easy in a 25-3 route. During their loss, the Panthers even benched Darnold who was sacked three times and threw one pick.

P.J. Walker was worse, with just 33 yards on 3-of-14 passing. Yes, three completions and 11 incompletions.

It’s hard to envision them turning to Walker full-time but it’s also hard to see Darnold turning this thing back around. What once looked so promising is now becoming a doomed experiment as the Panthers are going to be back to the drawing board in 2022 looking for yet another starting quarterback.

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