A disappointing six game skid has left the Carolina Panthers on the outside looking in of the NFL playoffs and with their post season hopes gone, the Panthers will play for something else when the Falcons come to Bank of America Stadium Sunday…pride.
“You play for the name on your back,” said Panthers Pro Bowl offensive lineman Trai Turner. “You don’t want to go out there and just look any way. I feel like the men in this room have all been a man at some point in their career and are men at this point in their career now, so you don’t want to go out there and just lay an egg…for what reason? You go out there an you ball.”
“This is a pride game for us,” Christian McCaffrey, who broke the franchise record for scrimmage yards in a season last week against the Saints, said ahead of Sunday’s contest. “You’ve kinda got to get yourself going for this week. As a man we’ve got to win and that’s the only thing on our mind.”
Atlanta defeated Carolina earlier in the season 31-24, but the Carolina team that takes on the Falcons this week will look very different without Cam Newton at center. And with nothing to lose for either team, expect a good ole scrappy NFC South battle as both teams hope to finish the season strong.