Now that the Panthers have your attention, don’t be surprised if they end up representing the NFC at MetLife Stadium in February.
Five victories in a row, including an impressive suffocation of the 49ers on the road the previous week, still had Carolina flying under the radar. But after Monday night’s 24-20 home win over Tom Brady and New England, the Panthers — questionable officiating or not — now have to be taken seriously when it comes to the road to the Super Bowl.
Carolina, which moves up two spots to No. 5 in The Post’s NFL Power Rankings, certainly has the recipe to make it to the Big Game for the second time in franchise history — a relentless, hard-hitting defense and an offense that’s hitting on all cylinders now that coordinator Mike Shula has taken the limitations off Cam Newton.
It also helps that the Panthers are coached by someone who was fighting for his job just a few months ago when Carolina started 1-3 and now leaves caution to the wind as a result, earning Ron Rivera the nickname “Riverboat Ron” for his frequent gambles.
All of that makes Carolina a very dangerous team and makes the NFC South chase extremely interesting, considering the Panthers face the 8-2 Saints twice in three weeks starting with a visit to the Superdome on Dec. 8. Thanks to the Panthers’ sudden rebirth, the division is going to be a wild ride.
(Last week’s ranking in parentheses)
1. Seahawks (1): Percy Harvin is back, and the rich get richer.
2. Broncos (3): Trips to New England and Kansas City the next two weeks loom huge.
3. Chiefs (2): Sorry, skeptics, but the loss in Denver didn’t “expose” anything.
4. Saints (4): Four of the next five are on the road, which doesn’t bode well for their home-field playoff chase.
5. Panthers (7): They got away with one Monday, but this team is still the real deal.
6. Patriots (5): No rest for the weary with Peyton and the Broncos coming to town Sunday.
7. Colts (9): Nice bounce-back road win over the Titans.
8. Bengals (10): A defense that has forced a combined 10 turnovers in the past four games is carrying them.
9. Lions (6): Megatron is still unstoppable, but wretched defense is going to be this team’s undoing.
10. 49ers (8): Who are you, and what have you done with Colin Kaepernick?
11. Cardinals (11): Just when you think they’re defense-only, Carson Palmer goes out and throws for 416 yards.
12. Bears (17): Don’t look now, but the schedule and Aaron Rodgers’ bum shoulder make them the NFC North front-runner.
13. Cowboys (13): How did Monte Kiffin keep his job through the bye week?
14. Eagles (14): Just one turnover the past three games combined.
15. Packers (12): Their three-game losing streak is nothing a date with the woeful Vikings won’t fix.
16. Dolphins (20): Shaking off the drama and beating the Chargers with a makeshift offensive line was impressive.
17. Jets (16): Geno Smith has more than earned this new short leash.
18. Steelers (26): If the leaked trade rumors were supposed to light a fire under Ben Roethlisberger, the plan worked.
19. Giants (23): Let’s see how they do against a quality quarterback for a change.
20. Ravens (18): The defending champs probably aren’t even going to make the playoffs. That’s life in the NFL’s salary-cap era.
21. Chargers (15): They keep losing so many close games that it’s like Norv never left.
22. Rams (22): They should savor that win over the Colts, because the schedule coming out of the bye week is brutal.
23. Raiders (25): That was impressive, Matt McGloin, but we need to see you against someone other than the awful Texans.
24. Titans (19): Their next three are on the road, ending with a trip to Denver. Say goodbye to the season.
25. Browns (21): Same ol’ Browns.
26. Bills (27): They’re petitioning the NFL to face Geno Smith every week.
27. Redskins (24): He throws a dreadful interception to end the game, then tries to get his coach fired. Not a good look, RG3.
28. Buccaneers (31): Greg Schiano apparently needed just 25 games to put his system in place.
29. Vikings (28): Adrian Peterson is the only thing that keeps this team from being a total eyesore.
30. Falcons (29): Their new slogan: “Thank goodness for Houston and Jacksonville!”
31. Texans (30): Everything’s big in Texas, especially the franchise meltdowns.
32. Jaguars (32): At least there’s some really nice beaches not far from the stadium.