The Panthers had the week off after their win in Germany. Let’s see what all went on.
The Carolina Panthers got a week off in Week 11 to rest up from winning a game in Germany. Let’s look at what happened around the league while they were enjoying their time away.
NFC South
The Saints are kind of back
The Saints fired their head coach Dennis Allen after a defeat to the Panthers in which they did their opposition a lot of favors. Special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi took over as the head guy and rizzed the boys up to a 2-0 start to his tenure. The notched home wins against the Falcons and Browns, which wouldn’t be something to brag about if it weren’t such a drastic improvement over what they were doing before.
The NFC South is becoming a meme again
With the Falcons loss to the Saints and the Bucs losing to the 49ers to make it four straight Ls, the division looks like it has exactly zero good teams. The Falcons have a two game lead and are in the drivers seat for a home playoff game, but I’d be rather surprised if they ended up a favorite in that game. Odds are there won’t be any NFC South representation in the Divisional Round.
The rest of the NFL
The Panthers continue to cost people their jobs
One week after defeating the Saints and getting their coach fired, the Panthers beat the New York Football Giants and ended the tenure of their quarterback. Daniel Jones is getting benched in favor of Danny (Dimes) DeVito. This seems like the Giants protecting Jones from getting hurt so they can cut him in the offseason without too much fuss. It looks like Jones’ time with the Giants is up.
The NFL announced Hall of Fame semifinalists and some former Panthers are featured
25 semifinalists have been announced for consideration for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The list includes Luke Kuechly and Steve Smith Sr., who I think we all agree should get the nod. They’d join Julius Peppers as the only ‘true’ Panthers in the Hall of Fame.
The Jets continue their downward spiral
The Jets were supposed to be Super Bowl contenders this season. Instead, they’ve been nothing but bad. Each loss seems to be followed by a move to try to help fan morale, whether it be firing the head coach, acquiring players, or what have you. This week, it’s the firing of general manager Joe Douglas. Meanwhile reports are that Aaron Rodgers is unlikely to return to the team next season and owner Woody Johnson even suggested benching him early in the season.
Jerry Jones is having problems with his stadium
Last week, Jerry Jones went on a celestial rant after the sun caused problems for the home team in their loss to the Eagles. This week, before their Sunday night game against the Texans, a piece of metal fell from the ceiling. It turns out it was supposedly just a covering for a cable tray, but it’s still not a good look for a structure that was already under fire for its orientation relative to the sun.