Carolina has only lost once the entire year and yet the narrative out every Panther player is that they are the being overlooked. The team with the best record isn’t usually the one that feels slighted, but head coach Ron Rivera says that is exactly the case. CBS Sports had the quote:
“I think we crashed the party. People were expecting us to be 8-8, 9-7, I guess. It took people a long time to pay attention to us.
I don’t think we were fairly treated by some other people. People made statements about who we are, and they have no idea about who we really are.”
While the fans may be upset that the Panthers haven’t gotten the attention they think they deserve, I think the team understands how much of a good thing this is for them. It’s so rare that the most dominant and talked about team in the regular season actually goes on to win the Super Bowl. With the overlooked narrative alive and well in Carolina, the chip on the shoulder that helped drive them to play the way they have during the regular season will continue to do so in the playoffs.