The first game for Carolina Panthers (5-7) interim coach Perry Fewell comes against an NFC South divisional rival. After being embarrassed by the Atlanta Falcons (3-9) a few weeks ago, Carolina owner David Tepper elected to make a personnel change and parted ways with long time coach Ron Rivera.
Although the move was expected if Carolina didn’t salvage a few more wins before finishing the season, firing Rivera with four games remaining came as a bit of a surprise. Tepper undoubtedly had his reasons and Rivera seemingly understood back-to-back late season collapses – seven consecutive losses in 2018 and four since the midpoint this year – were enough to warrant a change.