Rejuvenated Defense Keeping Carolina Panthers in Championship Conversation

January 4, 2015   ·   Michael Schottey   ·   Jump to comments

Can defense win a championship in Carolina?
In a considerably offensive-minded league that is moving more and more toward passing friendly rule changes and treating both quarterbacks and wide receivers like they need a plastic bubble around them, how is it even possible for a team like Carolina to be in the playoffs, let alone win a playoff game?
We saw the dynamic work firsthand on Wild Card Saturday, as the Panthers trounced the Arizona Cardinals 27-16 in a game that wasn't nearly as close as the final score indicates. For the night, linebacker Luke Kuechly had 10 total tackles and was fantastic in coverage, while defensive end Charles Johnson played a dominant role with two sacks, two QB hits and a handful of pressures on top of that.
About the dominant performance, cornerback Josh Norman said, "We're stifling right now. We're having fun with each other, and we're really loving this game."
Overall, the Panthers defense created three turnovers and made life as dif...

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