That’s right, eight losses, one tie. PLAYOFF TEAM!
Despite the fact that I kind of wanted the Falcons to win, so that the minute hope of the worst Super Bowl champion in history might’ve been a team from Atlanta, when the day was over, I didn’t really care. The 7-win Carolina Panthers are going to be my new favorite team for the next few weeks, provided they can manage to stay alive in the playoffs, and hopefully fulfill the embarrassing dream of being the worst team in history to make it into the playoffs and become Super Bowl champions.
Seriously, there’s all sorts of wrong with the playoff system, when the 7-8-1 Carolina Panthers not only make it into the playoffs, but actually get a home game. To put it into perspective how ironically funny this is, the Philadelphia Eagles finished the season 10-6, and are going to be sitting at home watching the playoffs next week. The San Francisco 49ers finished 8-8, and just fired their head coach. Meanwhile in the AFC, the Bills, Texans, Chiefs and Chragers (yes) all finished 9-7, and are not in the playoffs.
I mean, them’s the rules, but it’s still ironically humorous to see a team with seven wins entering the playoffs while seven teams with superior records won’t be.
What’s funnier is that I actually really like the Panthers’ chances against the Cardinals next week. Despite the fact that they’ve got 11 wins on the season, they’ve backed into the playoffs on account of them having no actual quarterback, going 2-4 in their final six games, and losing the two final games of the season.
Interestingly enough, a slightly less-embarrassing version of this story happened a few years ago, when an 8-8 Cardinals won their putrid division, got a home game against the 12-win Atlanta Falcons, beat them, and even went all the way to the Super Bowl, where they barely lost to the Steelers.
Granted, it’s a lofty task if the Panthers manage to beat the Cardinals, as the Seahawks would be waiting for them in Seattle, and as obnoxious as I dislike the insta-hype-train the Seachickens have become on account of winning the prior Super Bowl, it’ll be quite the task for the 7-win Panthers to win out there.
Doesn’t matter though. Go irony. Go embarrassment. Go chaos. Go worst playoff team in history.
Go Panthers!
