Carolina Panthers Trending Down for NFL Playoffs per ESPN

The Carolina Panthers saw their two-game win streak end last week at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After beating Detroit and then Philadelphia, the Panthers returned home for another NFC South showdown. But they left that game with some major questions to be answered.

Carolina is a banged-up team right now as they head into the Week 8 matchup with the Green Bay Packers. At 3-3, they still hold the lead in the NFC South, but just by a half game over the Atlanta Falcons. Carolina was certainly trending up going into their bye week and while they aren't out of the playoff race or anything by any means, the loss to Tampa Bay has them trending down. 

Going into Week 9, ESPN released its updated NFL playoff projections for this season based on the Week 8 results. The Panthers have a 32 percent chance to make the playoffs and a 30 percent chance to win the division.

But after that, the numbers go down.

ESPN has them with a less than one percent chance to win the NFC and earn the top overall seed and a two percent chance to earn a wild card spot. That means it's NFC South title or bust for the Panthers. 

With how good the rest of the NFC is, in particular the NFC West and NFC North, getting a wild card spot won't be easy. Both divisions are expected to have at least one wild card spot each and maybe more depending on how it plays out. That's exactly what happened last season when the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers made it in the North, and the Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, and San Francisco 49ers made it from the West.

ESPN also named the Panthers as the team trending down for this week. They mention how the Panthers had a golden chance to create some separation between them and the Falcons in the division. But falling to Tampa Bay and then watching the Falcons upset the 49ers and give San Francisco their first loss of the season. 

It's a little bit more of an uphill climb for the Panthers this season to the playoffs but they aren't out of it by any means. However, Thursday night is a good time to go out and make a statement against another good team in the NFC.