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Quick Fixes That Could Save Season for NFL’s Fading Former Superteams
- Updated: November 23, 2016
Historically, NFL teams need to get to 10-6 to make the playoffs. Of the 12 teams to make the playoffs last year, four—the Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers and Cincinnati Bengals—are below .500.
The Bengals, who are 3-6-1 and lost receiver A.J. Green and running back Giovani Bernard to injuries last week, can no longer get to double-digit wins. For all intents and purposes, their season is over.
The three other teams in that group still have a chance, although slim, to make a push to the postseason heading into Week 12 of the season. There are still some clear adjustments those teams can make to help their chances down the stretch, but they need to make them immediately, and they need to stick to their guns.
As we enter the final third of the season, we’ll break down the single most influential tactic each of those teams can do to help their odds of keeping their playoff hopes alive.
Carolina Panthers: Keep playing Mario Addison
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The stumble out of the gate for the Carolina Panthers was no accident. Until their Week 8 game against the Arizona Cardinals, their starting defensive line of Charles Johnson, Kawann Short, Star Lotulelei and Kony Ealy registered just 2.5 sacks over a six-game span.
They couldn’t get after the quarterback, which wasn’t an option after they’d lost Josh Norman, their star cornerback from last season’s NFC championship team, to free agency in the offseason. Someone needed to step up on the defensive line to make everyone’s life easier, and, recently, that has been Mario Addison.
In the last three games, despite not starting, Addison has notched five sacks—double what Carolina’s entire starting defensive line accumulated over the first seven games of the year. With 6.5 sacks on the season, he’s now recorded six or more sacks in each of the last three years—despite starting zero games during that stretch—and is on pace to set a career high in the statistic.
Now more than ever, it’s clear that Addison needs to see the field more, as he’s the team’s top pass-rusher. Addison had to prove himself coming into the league, coming out of non-power Troy University, as an undrafted free agent and a player who bounced around on four rosters in less than two calendar years to start his career.
He’s now a 29-year-old. He’s earned the benefit of the doubt, especially considering his production in limited reps, to warrant a full-time starting job.
The Panthers have quarterback Derek Carr, Russell Wilson, Philip Rivers, Kirk Cousins, Matt Ryan and Jameis Winston remaining on their schedule. …
