How the Bye Week Put Panthers in Driver's Seat for NFC South Crown

The term playoff race isn't applicable to the NFC South. It's more of a pub crawl to the end of the season as the four teams stumble all over each other.

The Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints currently sit at the head of the table at 4-7 overall, but the 3-7-1 Carolina Panthers are lurking and ready to pounce. 

The Panthers enjoyed a Week 12 bye—the timing of which couldn't have been better for a team trying to regather itself and find an identity down the stretch. 

Like any organization on its bye week, Panthers head coach Ron Rivera had an opportunity to reassess the team's current situation and make changes. Plus, the extra time off is also a chance for players to get healthy. The Panthers desperately needed both.

After the team had an opportunity to regather itself, it's primed for a strong push with the playoffs still a possibility. 

Cam Newton's Much-Needed Rest

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While it wasn't a completely uneventful bye week for the Panthers' quarterback—Twitter issues aside—time away from the field and the team is exactly what Newton required to return to the caliber of quarterback seen during previous seasons. 

Newton's play dropped off dramatically in recent weeks. 

During the team's current five-game losing streak, Newton completed 55.1 percent of his passes with only five touchdown tosses compared to eight interceptions. Newton threw at least one interception in each of the team's past seven games. 

The quarterback's mechanics and patience in the pocket haven't been good enough for the Panthers to be a winning team at this point in the season. 

But there are built-in excuses for Newton's sloppy play. The fourth-year quarterback has dealt with numerous nagging injuries, which play a factor in his overall effectiveness. 

Only once this season was Newton unleashed at his full potential.

During the team's 37-37 tie with the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5, the former No. 1 overall pick threw for 284 yards and ran for 107 more. Newton's season-high running total sans the Bengals game is 43 yards. He ran for more than 43 yards seven times during last year's playoff run. 

Despite the issues, Newton hasn't pouted or become a distraction in the locker room. 

“He’s been hit more than any other quarterback, and there are no complaints,” one source close to Newton told the Charlotte Observer's Jonathan Jones. “People are going to look for the negative, but he hasn’t said one negative thing.”

It's said time heals all wounds. Newton should be healthier entering this weekend's contest against the Minnesota Vikings than he has been at any point during the season. 

The Panthers quarterback also expects to get help from the rest of his offense upon the team's return to the playing field. 

The Return of Mike Tolbert

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At one point this season, Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman was signing running backs off the street to find someone healthy enough to play the position. 

The running back stable will receive a boost this weekend when Tolbert is back in the lineup after being placed on the injured reserve with a designation to return. 

The fullback originally injured his left knee during the Panthers' Week 3 contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Any time a first-team All-Pro returns to the lineup it's a tremendous boost.

"We're definitely a better offense when he's in the mix," center Ryan Kalil told Max Henson of Panthers.com. "He brings a lot to the table. He was definitely missed, and we're excited to have him back." 

While fullback is considered a dying position in the NFL, Tolbert adds so much more than being a lead blocker for DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. 

Rivera explained the importance of having Tolbert in the lineup, via the team's website: 

"

When you have a pure fullback in there, you know the ball is only going to one person. With Tolbert in there as kind of a hybrid fullback, you don't know if he's going to get the ball running it, catching it, or if he's going to block.

With him, you can move him around to different positions. He plays what we call the 'F' position. That 'F' position can be used by a tight end, another wide receiver or another running back. Because of what he does for us, he gives us a lot of flexibility in terms of personnel and formations you can align into. That's a plus.

"

After Williams and Stewart returned from injuries in recent weeks, the Panthers will now have a fully loaded backfield with Tolbert back in the mix. 

Offensive Line Shuffle

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Newton is among the NFL's leaders for the dubious distinction of being sacked the most times (32) this season. And Carolina's quarterback is also under duress from defenses during 37 percent of his dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). 

Surrendering a sack is demoralizing enough, but it places even more stress on the Panthers offense due to Newton's tendency to try and avoid being tackled, which causes him to lose more yardage than an average quarterback, as Football Outsiders' Scott Kacsmar illustrated: 

Over the last five weeks, the Panthers started five different offensive line combinations. Continuity is crucial for a team's offensive line to be effective. Yet Carolina continues to suffer from inconsistency among its front five. 

Rivera took the opportunity during an extra week of preparation to start a competition at right tackle. With Nate Chandler on the injured reserve, former starting guard Amini Silatolu emerged as the team's new strong-side blocker. 

Carolina's head coach discussed his decision and why he preferred to start Silatolu at right tackle with the Charlotte Observer's Jonathan Jones: 

"

Mostly because of his physical and aggressive nature. We thought his athleticism spoke very well, his ability to pull in terms of what we wanted to do with the offense.

I would think probably going from where he did from playing left tackle, going to left guard suits him better in terms of watching his aggressive nature. He is an overly aggressive player, which speaks well to being a guard.

"

Silatolu played left tackle at Midwestern State University before being selected 40th overall in the 2012 NFL draft. The former Mustang started 25 games at guard since entering the NFL. As Rivera discussed, he shouldn't be completely out of place at tackle and could provide some stability to the offensive line during the team's final five games. 

With Silatolu at right tackle, undrafted rookie Andrew Norwell will continue to start at left guard between left tackle Byron Bell and center Ryan Kalil. Another rookie, Trai Turner, remains at right guard.

Carolina now has its best starting five among those still healthy on the roster. Another injury could prove to be devastating, but the team can move forward with renewed confidence in its offensive line. 

Under Pressure

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Arguably the biggest difference in the Panthers this season compared to last year's 12-4 campaign has been the play of the defense. 

Last year's unit ranked second overall in total defense. It fell to 25th overall this season. 

The defensive front hasn't been nearly as dominant at the point of attack or getting to the quarterback as it was a year ago. Once Greg Hardy, who registered 15 sacks in 2013, was placed on the commissioner's exempt list due to an ongoing court case, the defense lost its best edge-rusher. 

A replacement for that level of production wasn't readily available. However, Hardy's bookend, Charles Johnson, stepped up his play over the past four games. During that time, the eighth-year veteran provided consistent pressure with 17 quarterback hurries, according to Pro Football Focus. His 31 total hurries are third among 4-3 defensive ends. 

Along with Johnson's improved play, the Panthers defense will receive another boost when defensive tackle Star Lotulelei returns to the lineup. Although, ESPN's David Newton reported Lotulelei didn't practice Wednesday and isn't likely to play this weekend. 

Lotulelei is one of the NFL's rising stars, and his return will be welcome addition, whether it's this weekend or next.

Five Weeks and Counting

The Panthers have less than a month to turn around their fortunes, and the schedule sets up in their favor. The combined records of Carolina's final five opponents are 21-34 overall. Only the Cleveland Browns have a record over .500. 

Plus, Carolina has an opportunity to take care of business within the division. Three of the team's final five games are against NFC South opponents. 

Atlanta currently leads the way with a 4-0 record against division opponents. The Falcons are 0-7 against the rest of the NFL. If the Panthers follow a similar pattern plus steal a game from one of their remaining non-division opponents, then the NFC South could very likely be theirs with a 7-8-1 record. 

That may even be an optimistic projection, as ESPN tweeted: 

Clearly, a winning record doesn't appear to be a requirement to claim an NFC South title this season, and Carolina may prove to be the biggest beneficiary of down seasons by all four teams in the division. 

A late bye week could be the catalyst to propel Carolina in the right direction due to improved health to key players and the ability to readjust the roster for optimal performance. 

Brent Sobleski covers the NFC South for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.