Monday Night Football Week 8: TV Schedule, Live Stream for Colts vs. Panthers

The Carolina Panthers will look to become the fourth team to reach 7-0 this season when they host the Indianapolis Colts on ESPN's Monday Night Football. 

Joining the likes of this season's iterations of Denver, Cincinnati and New England on Monday would all but guarantee Carolina a postseason berth. According to Odds Shark's Joe Osborne, all 14 teams that started 7-0 between 2000 and 2014 went on to make the playoffs, and 42.9 percent of those squads went on to reach the Super Bowl.

Carolina has a chance to extend its lead in the NFC South after the Atlanta Falcons dropped to 6-2 with a 23-20 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Winning the division outright and even claiming a first-round bye would be huge boosts to a potential Super Bowl run.

Indianapolis may be 3-4 on the year, but they do lead the dreadful AFC South by a half-game. Houston, Jacksonville and Tennessee all have glaring flaws and hardly look like playoff-caliber teams. In the same way Carolina stumbled its way into the postseason last year with a 7-8-1 record, the Colts have a chance to play extra football by simply being the best of the worst.

Colts vs. Panthers: Schedule, Viewing Info

When: Monday, November 2 at 8:15 p.m. ET

Where: Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

R Brent Smith/Associated Press

When discussing the Colts in 2015, it's nearly impossible not to acknowledge the heretofore strange and mystifying regression of Andrew Luck. After throwing 40 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in 2014, Luck has reverted to something resembling his rookie form. In five games, Luck has thrown 11 touchdowns against nine picks with a 38.3 QBR, the worst of his career per ESPN.com. 

The shoulder injury Luck picked up in Week 3 and caused him to miss two weeks is likely part of the explanation for his decline, but it might not be the full story. Luck is apparently battling another injury picked up in Week 3, per Fox Sports' Jay Glazer: 

If true, it's a startling revelation. Luck—who is not listed on the Colts' injury report this week—will be under intense scrutiny on Monday night, as fans, players and pundits alike look for signs that his body is betraying his quarterbacking abilities this season.

One player who is looking to prey on Luck is Panthers cornerback Josh Norman, who's establishing himself as one of the better corners in the league. Norman hopes that Luck throws his way on Monday.

"I'd like to take that (challenge) on and see what it looks like," Norman said, per the Associated Press (h/t USA Today). "That challenge, I accept it."

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

It's a challenge that the past two QBs to take on the Panthers, Seattle's Russell Wilson and St. Louis' Nick Foles, would not accept, per ESPN.com's David Newton: 

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Those two targeted the receiver covered by Norman a combined three times, and you really can’t count two of them since they were screen passes that were thrown behind the line of scrimmage.

If Norman is asked to shadow Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton the way he has the top receiver for most teams this season, it’ll be almost impossible for Luck to avoid him.

Hilton has been targeted an average of 10.5 times per game, including 15 last week against New Orleans.

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If Norman shuts down Hilton, it will be up to the likes of Donte Moncrief and Andre Johnson to step up. It's a tall task, though, as those two have combined for just 12 more targets than Hilton's 75 this season. One option would be to lean on the running game a bit more. Frank Gore is averaging a robust 4.6 yards per carry, but Indy as a team ranks just 27th in rushing.

AJ Mast/Associated Press

San Francisco failed to feed Gore last season, moving to more four- and five-wide receiver sets to take advantage of Colin Kaepernick's abilities in the spread. Gore might be similarly ignored this season, despite swapping uniforms.

The 32-year-old running back has carried the ball more than 20 times just once in 2015. Second-half carries have been hard to come by in recent games, per IndySportsCentral.com's Mike Chappell:

Running the ball certainly hasn't been a problem for Carolina, averaging a league-leading 144.7 yards per game. Jonathan Stewart, no longer sharing carries with DeAngelo Williams, is flourishing as a bona fide lead back, while Cam Newton continues to pose a threat both scrambling and on designed runs. Newton is averaging 4.5 yards per carry and already has four rushing touchdowns. 

As for the passing game, Newton still struggles with accuracy, but his ability to keep the offense flowing and limit glaring mistakes has improved this year.

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

Newton is completing just 55.8 percent of his passes, a lower rate than the struggling Luck. He is, however, making his passes count, especially when he hits his top targets in tight end Greg Olsen and wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. Of their 45 combined receptions, 36 have gone for first downs, per ESPN.com.

SB Nation's Stephen White thinks Newton has elevated his game this year: 

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Yes, I think we have seen Cam Newton turn a corner, and on a number of fronts for that matter. Jonathan Stewart scored two rushing touchdowns, so Newton finally hasn't accounted for all of the Panthers' offensive touchdowns this year, which was just absurd I must say again. He is still making everybody better on that offense. That includes an offensive line that hasn't been perfect, but Newton has been so good with his feet this season that they still haven't given up a bunch of sacks. In fact, Newton has been sacked 10 times so far this season, which is less than half of the number of sacks Russell Wilson has taken.

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So long as the defense does its job and Newton has his legs, the Panthers can win without gaudy numbers in the passing game.

Luck, a fine runner in his own right, doesn't have the same luxuries. If he is dealing with broken ribs, taking shots as a ball-carrier is borderline reckless. Indianapolis' defense is mediocre at best this year. The Colts are lucky to be in such a poor division, as they will live and die by Luck's arm this season, which is a dicey proposition if he is hampered by injury.