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The Carolina Panthers, despite losing a heartbreaker to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday, won the NFC South. Despite an 8-9 record, they will host an NFC Wild Card game against the Los Angeles Rams.
The fourth-seeded Panthers were installed as 10.5-point underdogs in Vegas, a number not often seen by road teams in the NFL playoffs. On Monday, Carolina head coach Dave Canales met with the media and clued everyone in on what instills confidence that they can pull off the upset.
Canales was a member of the Seattle Seahawks staff during the 2010 season. That was the year of the infamous Marshawn Lynch “Beast Quake” playoff game. Seattle, as a 7-9 NFC West division winner, hosted the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints and was a heavy underdog.
Yet, Lynch went bonkers and ripped off a game-winning 67-yard touchdown run in a 41-36 victory.
“When I sat back down after the touchdown, I almost fainted,’’ Canales remembered, per ESPN’s David Newton. The play sent the fans into a frenzy, with the raucous environment registered on the Richter Scale.
It may take a similar herculean effort on Saturday for the Panthers to emerge victorious.
Los Angeles, despite being a 5-seed, has the second-best odds to win the Super Bowl. They are loaded on offense with a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Matthew Stafford, two elite wide receivers, two stud running backs, and a stout defense.
Interestingly, like the Saints and Seahawks in 2010, these teams met earlier this season. New Orleans won the first meeting, 34-19, before getting shocked in the playoffs. But the Panthers actually beat the Rams 31-28 in a wild, back-and-forth game just over a month ago. So, this Carolina team will not lack for confidence going into this game.
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