Panthers-Giants...A Blessing in Disguise For The Panthers?

Almost 80,000 bewildered Giants fans watched in the New Jersey swamp land for almost 60 minutes only to see their beloved Giants lose to the Panthers on a last second field goal, from the only original Panther, John Kasay. But wait just a minute, when the 51 yard kick left Kasay's foot it was true and Panther fans cheered and Giants fans started to feel that sick feeling....until the back judge crossed his arms and waived the kick off. The last five feet of the kick had been blown just left by that infamous Meadowland's wind.

The Giants had survived. The Giants' fans were elated and the Panthers and the Panther fans had just had the wind sucked out of their sails. But, looking at this from another perspective reveals this may just be a blessing in disguise for the Carolina Panthers.

The game was one of the most entertaining of the year. The Giants capitalized on the Panthers' shortcomings. Carolina's interior defensive run stopper, Ma'ake Kemoeatu was on the sidelines, out with an injury. If that was not enough, defensive tackle, Damione Lewis, was moved over to the "nose" position where he had almost no experience and wound up hurting his shoulder and was still asked to stop the league's leading rushing offense. It got even better for the Giants as Carolina had activated a rookie defensive tackle, Nick Hayden, from their practice squad on Saturday and played him in the most critical juncture of the game on Sunday. If that was not bad enough for the Panthers, another backup,  defensive tackle Gary Gibson, was effectively playing with one arm tied behind his back as he was on the field with a cast on his hand and finally, arguably, Carolina's best defensive player, Jon Beason, had been sick with food poisoning and seemed to play nowhere near his actual ability.

The perfect storm had culminated and the Giants took advantage of it. Now, it is hard to explain why Carolina coach, John Fox had his rookie running back, Jonathan Stewart, on the field during the most critical drives of the game while the NFL's touchdown leading running back, DeAngelo Willliams, was merely a spectator. It was hard to explain a run play and not a pass on third down near the end of regulation and it was hard to explain why Carolina's defensive back, Ken Lucas, seemed to give everyone he covered, a five yard cushion.

Those questions can be debated but the Panthers had better be out of the argument. Their season lies fully in their hands going forward and looking back will not get it done. The Panthers, once again, face another "biggest game of the season." Face it, every game they have played since their last loss was their "biggest game of the season." This team has had to rise up when called on before this season and they have done it. Sunday night's game in the Meadowlands, just goes to show the Panthers are capable of playing up or down to their opponent's level.

Coach Fox knew the pros and cons of a win against the Giants. His conservative play calling near the end of the game and his post game press conference can almost lead one to believe Fox was not completely sold on the "do or die" nature of Sunday's game. John Fox remember's John Gruden's woes when he had a meaningless last game and rested his starters before going into the playoffs. Fox had already seen, earlier this season, how his team had trouble trying to bounce back after a bye week. It is a double edged sword. With a win Sunday Carolina would have gotten a meaningless last game and would have had the chance to avoid injury and simply rest their starters for two weeks and then play a home playoff game against a team coming off of a big win.

However, Sunday's loss assures the Panthers of one thing, this week's game in New Orleans is their biggest game of the 2008 season. Not only will Fox have the opportunity to have his team go out play hard in a big game that matters on the season's last week, he will also have the chance to let his team rest and heal for one week before a home playoff game after a win in New Orleans. Finally, Fox walked away from the Meadowlands with a huge bag of intangibles going into the postseason. Fox has a team that now has even more of a reason to want another shot at the Giants. Their is now the revenge factor. The Panthers want Sunday's night game back and if they follow this loss the way they have followed their other losses this season, they will probably get their re-match.

Now, the Panthers' focus and venom will turn toward the New Orleans Saints this Sunday. The Panthers will be asked to bounce back for the fifth time this season, but coming off Sunday's loss there could not be a bigger "bounce back" game. A win Sunday will secure the Panthers a second seed in the NFC Playoffs and then they will be two wins away from the Superbowl. If the playoffs were held today the Panthers' would face the winner of the Dallas-Minnesota game. The Giants would face the winner of the Arizona-Atlanta game.

The road to the Superbowl will not be easy for Carolina but it is doable. John Fox's coaching philosophy is all about field position and getting his team into a doable situation then letting the chips fall where they may. The road to a Panthers-Giants re-match will be loaded with land mines for both teams. There is no gimmie for either team. But it can happen and hopefully, for football fans, it will. The Panthers have been consistent this season as they have not lost any back-to-back games and have followed losses with at least two victories. Time will tell and nothing is certain but I will bet the Giants would prefer to not see a Panther team with a healthy defensive line and an adjusted game plan in the NFC Championship game.

The Panther faithful will get all of their questions answered this Sunday in New Orleans. The Panthers are a veteran enough team to not let the Giants' loss follow them into their next game, but it will be a hard loss to shake and a challenge to overcome, however, again it is doable. On the other hand, Giants' fans have to be happy with home field advantage going forward and the return of Brandon Jacobs. The Giants will face a bruising Vikings' team this weekend and Tom Coughlin seems to remember last season and the importance of keeping his starters active and riding a winning wave into the playoffs. If the Bears lose Monday the Vikings are in the playoffs and the Giants' game becomes a lot less important to the Vikings at that point. It could wind up with the Vikings resting key personnel and that could lead to a big closing weekend in New Jersey.

If the Vikings game does matter due to a Chicago win then this should one of the best closing weekends for the NFL in quite a few years. To have the San Diego Chargers with a heartbeat going into this weekend is unbelievable and to have the Carolina Panthers, who were chosen by many in the pre-season to be at best, an 8-8 team is almost as incredible. On another note, the Panthers' star running back, DeAngelo Williams has to get at least a legitimate look at the league's MVP award after blowing out all comers with his league leading touchdown total, his very healthy cumulative rushing yard total and his value to Carolina and their success this season.