Panthers look to sweep Falcons, clinch home-field advantage

“It shouldn’t have been a thriller, I can tell you that”, Carolina quarterback Cam Newton said after the game. Unless they can convince the league to put them back in the NFC West, they’re going to be facing teams led by Cam Newton and Jameis Winston, two guys that have really bright futures (or are already there).

They’ve won 18 straight regular season games since and have become Super Bowl favorites with a chance to join the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only undefeated champions. The Panthers, now 14-0, are one game from making sure the Cardinals don’t take them, and two games from perfection, although that debate can wait another week. A win by the Panthers would clinch the NFC’s top seed and home-field advantage for the playoffs.

“It’s just growth. I can’t even attribute that to maturity”, Newton said.

The goal, of course, is the Super Bowl.

Cam Newton is reminding everyone he can beat teams with his right arm. He became the first player to throw for 300 yards, run for 100 yards and toss five touchdown passes in the same game, the first National Football League player with 340 passing yards and 100 rushing yards in the same game and the first National Football League player with 100 rushing yards and five touchdown passes in the same game. He has three games with five TD passes.

Newton’s immaturity was so evident that Steve Smith publicly called him out for it.

“I can remember when I was early on in this league I would hit a wall”, Newton said. Panthers are 14-0 for first time in franchise history….

Falcons coach Dan Quinn can attest to that explosiveness. No matter what stadium he’s in, Cam is constantly having a good time with his teammates, celebrating all of his achievements with dabs and other fantastic antics. If he carried that average all season, he’d be the No. 1 back in standard-scoring formats, nearly a full point ahead of Devonta Freeman and two points clear of Adrian Peterson. As I see it even with Matty Ice at QB for the Falcons. The reality check was demoralizing.

“These last two games are division opponents, and we’ll be in a hostile environment in Atlanta and we’ve got a tricky week with Christmas”, Newton said. “But we came together as a team and never lost focus”. Then talent, coaching, will to win, and the alignment of Neptune and Pluto will come into play, and Carolina will run away with it, much like they did against the New York Giants.

Talking about rushing, let’s take a moment to give a shout out to Cameron Artis-Payne.

It is easy to forget this team went 12-4 in 2013 to win the first of three straight NFC South championships.

Some people say Carolina hasn’t beaten anyone, that it’s been luckier more than good.

SLIM AND NONE: Atlanta kept its slim postseason hopes alive by beating Jacksonville 23-17 last week. Frankly, though, Carolina is the much better team and Atlanta has been mighty shaky for most of the last two months, so I’m not counting on a win. There are deficiencies all over the place, and the quality of quarterback play is in question going forward.

They acquired some unheralded veterans this past offseason, including safety Kurt Coleman, wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr., cornerback Charles Tillman and offensive tackle Michael Oher, who have played major roles. We don’t need anybody’s votes, we don’t need style points, we don’t need any of that.