Panthers Get Big Opportunity At Home Monday Night Against Patriots

Suddenly the Monday Night Football matchup between the Carolina Panthers and the New England Patriots in Week 11 has become a marquee game on the schedule. The Panthers haven’t lost since Week 5, and come in as one of the hottest teams in the league. The Patriots continue to hold on to one of the NFL’s best records, but should expect a hard-fought physical contest. This will be an 8:30 pm ET kickoff on ESPN.

The Patriots enter this game in sole possession of the AFC East with a 7-2 record despite their offense not clicking till their last game. Heading into their 55-31 win over the Steelers, they had yet to score more than thirty points in a game all season including two games being held without a touchdown. Now it is hard to compare teams and how the Steelers have played this well but they do have a very stingy pass defense that ranks fourth in the NFL and Brady picked it apart completing 23 passes for 432 yards and four touchdowns.

This will also be a great game to see how well the Panthers stack up to the rest of the teams around the NFL. They have a solid 6-3 record but prior to their 10-9 win over the 49ers they had yet to beat a team with a winning record. Now, if you look at their winning streak it comes down to playing great defense and Cam Newton making plays. In the five games Newton has thrown seven touchdown passes compared to only three interceptions. Now, add in a defense that has only allowed a total of four touchdowns in five games that is a recipe for wins. The Panthers defense has also forced 12 turnovers over that stretch and zero rushing touchdowns.

The one thing that doesn’t look good for the Panthers is the fact that Brady and the Patriots have a 9-2 record after their bye week with Brady at quarterback. In those eleven games Brady has passed for 2,664 yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions. If the Panthers want a win this week they will need to limit Brady in making plays.