NEW ORLEANS, LA - OCTOBER 16: Cam Newton #1 of the Carolina Panthers scrambles out of the pocked during the first half of a game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on October 16, 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
The Pittsburgh Steelers might be the most interesting team if you’re looking for a second half of the season comeback. The Carolina Panthers might be the best team to not win their division.
Both of these teams are on win streaks, (straight up and against the spread), with Carolina (6-2) winning its last four and Pittsburgh (5-2-1) taking its most recent three.
Cam Newton is a younger, more media-friendly Ben Roethlisberger. At this point, he’s more mobile, stronger, and does more with less too. It’s hard to believe Devin Funchess and a 33-year-old Greg Olson should be leading receivers for a 6-2 team. Somehow, Carolina leads the NFL with 5.2 yards per carry and is second to the Los Angeles Rams with 143.9 yards per game. Pittsburgh might have the sixth-best rushing defense but I don’t believe it. You could wheel out Walter Payton’s corpse and it might go for 100 yards in Heinz Stadium. There’s something in the air there that just lets the next running back step into place, like Deangelo Williams in 2016 and James Conner now. Anyways, they’ve played Tampa Bay, Baltimore (twice), Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Atlanta. Four of those teams make up some of the seven worst rushing teams in the NFL. The Browns happen to have the ninth-most rushing yards but they’ve also played four overtime games this season. A few of those teams shouldn’t be playing in the NFL. No need to say which but one of them just downgraded from a coach who went 3-36 to this guy.
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Starting off Week 10, this is one of the first games with the potential to shape the playoffs. The Panthers are neck and neck with the Saints, who just beat the Rams and easily could’ve been a game away from the SuperBowl were it not for a fluke catch by Stefon Diggs. Carolina is only two years removed from an NFC Championship.
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Pittsburgh holds first place in an atrocious AFC North. They’re on pace to finish 10-4-2. That’s not a team I’m confident with putting money on. Mike Tomlin and Antonio Brown are more entertaining than any other team off the field and in the locker room. Still, they’re just not a team to like. Vegas somehow has them favored. Conner is one of the most exciting story-lines of the season. Roethlisberger is great on paper. He’s chasing 5,000 yards. Maybe that’s why. But each time we see a 36-year-old quarterback who almost walked away from football this offseason and who takes as many hits as he does, it doesn’t look good. Cam Newton always does. Cam’s smile is perfect.
I think the Panthers win this.
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