NFL Power Rankings, Week 14: Eagles look to keep NFC East race interesting

20. Carolina Panthers

What on earth has happened to the Carolina Panthers? It seemed like only yesterday this team was viewed as a serious contender in the NFC, and made it seem like they were capable of giving the New Orleans Saints a run for the money in the NFC South.

Instead, Carolina has become one of the biggest disappointments over the last month, and losing their fourth game in a row on Sunday to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is just another example of the frustration surrounding this team. To top it off, the Panthers are now on the outside looking in of the NFC playoff picture since their four-game losing streak has resulted in them sitting at No. 8 in the standings if the season were to end today.

Seeing how Carolina still has two games against the New Orleans Saints along with a tough upcoming matchup against the Cleveland Browns, maybe Ron Rivera’s team isn’t built for the playoffs after all.

Otherwise, the Panthers would be in much better shape this late in the season instead of now facing must-win situations for just about every game over the next couple of weeks. Sadly, it looks like Carolina will be watching the playoffs from home this year when seeing how the rest of the NFC is shaping out.