As Week 15 arrives, the Carolina Panthers find themselves right in the thick of the NFC playoff picture — a position few would have predicted before the campaign got underway.
The Panthers are 7–6. They sit tied atop the NFC South with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, comfortably ahead of both the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints, who have already been eliminated from postseason contention.
But that margin is meaningless if Carolina can’t capitalize on the opportunity in front of them on the road this weekend at the Saints.
Their trip to New Orleans won’t be a formality.