Carolina Panthers Not Concerned With 0-2 Start? Perhaps They Should Be

The Panthers enter what most would call a must-win game as they host the Bengals this Sunday.  Despite starting 0-2, Panthers head coach John Fox said his team will approach a game that could leave them 0-3 just like any other game.

“You attack every one of these games,” said Fox. “No different two weeks ago in New York, no different than (Sunday) with Tampa Bay. Unfortunately, we’ve been on the wrong side of it for the first two weeks. There will be no more emphasis on this game than any of the first two, or there probably be no more emphasis on this game than the ones following it.”

In a division with the defending Super Bowl champion Saints at 2-0, the playoff-hopeful Falcons at 1-1 and the surprisingly 2-0 Buccaneers, the Panthers find themselves in the NFL South basement early as the only winless team in the division.

The Panthers are ranked 23rd in total offense and 22nd in total defense through the first two weeks of the season, and they’ll turn to rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen this Sunday, who will make his first NFL start after Matt Moore was benched in the fourth quarter against the Buccaneers last week.

Fox maintains that his team is not thinking about their record, but perhaps they should be.  Only 13 percent of teams that start 0-2 make the playoffs.  Only three teams since 1990 have started 0-3 and made the playoffs, and it has not happened in 11 years.

No, an 0-3 start is not a death sentence, but your days are certainly numbered.

This article can also be found at www.footballnewsnow.com.