National Football League

Garafolo's Sunday Wrap: Panthers unapologetic for win-and-in situation

Published Dec. 21, 2014 11:58 p.m. ET

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Mike Garafolo

They kept flashing the score of the Atlanta Falcons-New Orleans Saints game on the board at Bank of America Stadium all afternoon long, so the Carolina Panthers and their fans clearly knew what was happening in the only other game that mattered to them.

The final update came moments after Jonathan Stewart ran up the middle for 30 yards to convert a third-and-5 and ice the 17-13 victory for the Panthers over the Cleveland Browns. The Falcons' Osi Umenyiora had just taken his sweet time returning a fumble by Drew Brees 86 yards for a touchdown, so it was the news Carolina had hoped to see: Falcons 30, Saints 14.

Next Sunday, it's the Panthers at the Falcons for the NFC South -- the division nobody seemed to want to win.

"It's funny, all year long, we got a couple of breaks. Not so much with ourselves as much as what's going on around us, with other teams losing when they needed to and what not," Panthers tight end Greg Olsen told FOX Sports by phone. "We're not going to apologize. Everyone wants to make a big deal about a sub-.500 team winning the division, but last year we had to win 12 to win it. This season is a little different, an anomaly, but we obviously have done enough to put ourselves in contention."

Down in New Orleans, they were saying similar things in the Falcons' locker room.

"If you'd told me at the beginning of the year, you'd have the last game of the season against Carolina at home to go to the playoffs, I think everybody would have taken it," Matt Ryan told FOX Sports. "We'll be fired up, they'll be ready to go, we just need to play a good game next week.

"You can toss the records out. It doesn't make a difference at this point. It comes down to one game. We know what we've gotta do, they know what they've gotta do. It should be a lot of fun."

Yes, toss the records out. Please. Or look at the recent marks for both teams.

The Panthers (6-8-1) enter Week 17 having won three straight. Sure, none of those three opponents is headed to the postseason, but they won the games on their schedule. In fact, that's exactly what Ron Rivera said the last time the Panthers faced the Falcons. Following that 19-17 victory for Atlanta that dropped the Panthers to 3-7-1, Rivera said, "I don't know, maybe somebody's trying to tell us something because New Orleans lost, so who knows? I talked to the players about it and said, 'We're still right in the middle of this, believe it or not, but we've got to start taking care of our business.'"

They did.

"He's like a prophet," Olsen said with a laugh. "He knew something, he was on to something there."

So was Mike Smith. After the Falcons blew a 21-point lead to lose to the Detroit Lions in overtime in London on Oct. 26 to fall to 2-6, Smith told his players to focus on going 1-0 each week. It was his twist on the old one-game-at-a-time mantra. Well, the Falcons have gone 1-0 four times and 0-1 three times since then and are now 6-9 heading into Sunday.

Where they basically have a one-game season and need to go 1-0 to get into the playoffs.

Having an active Julio Jones will be a big help in their latest quest to go undefeated for a day.

"He's a beast. It's that simple," Ryan said of Jones, who had seven catches for 107 yards, including a few grabs over defenders, despite being extremely questionable with a hip injury. "He goes out there, he's incredibly competitive and he shows you the kind of grit and toughness he has. I'm sure he was hurting out there but he never lets you know it. He just goes out there and competes week in and week out. You've gotta love having him."

The Panthers had their own guy gutting it out in Cam Newton. Eleven days after suffering two fractures in his back in a nasty car accident, Newton threw for 201 yards and a touchdown. The most impressive part of his performance on Sunday was his running for 63 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.

Newton used his legs to scramble long enough to let Stewart get open for the game-winning touchdown. He also had a 13-yard run on a third-and-1 two plays earlier. On that play, Olsen was out in front of his quarterback and never turned back to see if the ball was coming.

"If they bit up, I'm going to go (out for a pass). But I could tell the way they all bit, if I just blocked that guy, Cam would get it," Olsen said. "I never had any doubt he was going to pull it down."

Of the last 12 days, Newton said, "I'll tell you what, it was somewhat tiring, honestly, just to go through so much."

It's been tiring for the entire Panthers roster to go through this season. Asked for one word to describe this year, Olsen replied, "Turbulent."

The Falcons would surely say the same. Many believed Smith was on his way to being fired. Many believe that will still be the case, even if the Falcons win Sunday but don't advance in the postseason.

It's an ugly but promising scenario for both teams -- so ugly the game wasn't flexed into prime time despite the win-and-you're-in nature of the game. But like Olsen said, no one is apologizing.

"We've played good enough to win three in a row. That was the goal," he said. "Coming off the Minnesota game (a loss in Week 13), we obviously didn't play well, we said, 'We have four more games, if things go our way, we'll put ourselves in position.'

"We've handled our business. We won three in a row and now we go down (to Atlanta) for the division championship. Not much more you can ask for."

FIVE QUICK THOUGHTS

1. Give Stephen Ross credit for having patience in a business where so many of his cohorts don't have any. I reported a few weeks ago on FOX Sports 1's "America's Pregame" before the Miami Dolphins' game against the New York Jets that Ross was telling people close to him he wasn't feeling the urge to fire Joe Philbin even if the Dolphins missed the playoffs because he liked the direction of the team and how Ryan Tannehill was progressing under Philbin. After that report, the Dolphins eked out a win over the Jets, lost by 15 to the Baltimore Ravens at home and then lost by 28 to the New England Patriots on the road. But the body of work for Philbin (a combined 23-24 through Sunday's victory over the Minnesota Vikings) is enough for Ross to stick with Philbin for one more season. Now, Ross did make it clear he's "expecting big things next year" so a third straight near-miss won't cut it. But Ross, with Jim Harbaugh twisting in the wind, is sticking with his guy and showing some faith. That's admirable in and of itself.

2. Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola and New York Giants kicker Josh Brown both did one of the worst things a player can do to another player on Sunday when they used their feet as weapons toward an opponent. Raiola somehow tried to deny he stomped the Chicago Bears' Ego Ferguson by saying he was stumbling. (Lions coach Jim Caldwell bought that ridiculous story.) Raiola has been accused of cheap shots before -- in 2012 by then-Bears defensive tackle Henry Melton and earlier this season by the New England Patriots when he dove at their knees during a kneel-down play and took a swing at another player -- but this one crossed a very, very clear line. Stomping on a player got former Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth suspended for five games. Yeah, Haynesworth cleated Andre Gurode's face, whereas Raiola went for Ferguson's ankle, but the act was very similar and very intentional. Brown's wasn't as egregious, as he kicked an opponent in the air, though Tom Coughlin's reaction when the official told him what happened showed the Giants' coach knew it was a dirty move. It's a physical game that goes overboard from time to time, but Raiola and Brown went way too far. Raiola should be suspended, though something tells me it'll only be a fine coming his way.

3. When I walked into the Giants' locker room one day this offseason and observed Odell Beckham Jr., I thought to myself, "This guy has 'it.'" I had no idea he'd be as successful as he's been this year and would set the franchise record for receptions and receiving yards as a rookie. What I meant was Beckham had the "it" factor -- the looks, the swagger, the hair, the style, the confidence. If he reached his potential on the field, he would be a sensation off of it. That's what's happening right now. The young man is an entertainer with a motor that doesn't stop. He's a one-handed catch machine who brings it with his touchdown celebrations as well. Even when he declined to do "The Whip" after his second score on Sunday, it was entertaining when he ran back to grab the football so he could hand it to the official. That was his response to the flag he got for spinning the ball on his first touchdown. Earlier in the game, Beckham showed good restraint when Rams safety T.J. McDonald got into his face and he didn't respond. Giants coach Tom Coughlin wants Beckham to tone down his act a bit, but here's hoping the old-school coach and the new-school sensation can find a happy medium because Beckham is having fun and he's a blast to watch. (And oh yeah, he plays the piano, too.)

4. On "FOX NFL Kickoff" on FOX Sports 1 Sunday morning, I mentioned a dark-horse candidate for the San Francisco 49ers in their expected coaching search: Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. Now, don't misconstrue this report. I'm not saying he's the favorite. Defensive line coach Jim Tomsula remains the best bet if the Niners stay in house and sources have told me for months the Denver Broncos' Adam Gase and the New England Patriots' Josh McDaniels are expected to be high on the team's list because they're bright, quarterback-friendly coaches. But so is Shanahan. Remember, he's the one who has gotten the best out of Robert Griffin III so far in RG3's young career. A source said the Niners are intrigued by what Shanahan could do for Colin Kaepernick. Plus, Gase and McDaniels are currently with teams who are expected to head deep into the postseason, so there will be plenty of time to talk to Shanahan. Don't be surprised if it happens.

5. I had a stomach virus on Friday. I didn't get out of bed all day -- save for the short walks to you know where. My boss told me to chill instead of doing my scheduled hit on "America's Pregame" because he wanted me rested up for Sunday. I repeat: I was told to not stand up and talk because it might take too much out of me. The point of this story is I have no idea how Marshawn Lynch mustered the strength to battle through his stomach bug to ward off multiple professional tacklers on a good Arizona Cardinals defense on his way to a 79-yard touchdown run. No idea. No clue whatsoever. I didn't want to stand up and there was Lynch leaping into the end zone at the end of that run after missing the first quarter and, according to reporters on the scene, vomiting into a bucket on the sideline. And oh yeah, he's battling through a back injury. Does everyone understand Lynch's training-camp holdout now?

TEN EVEN QUICKER THOUGHTS

1. Seahawks defense: Run the ball to an opening and a defender shows up. Throw the ball to seemingly open space and there's another defender. They're swarming again. At the right time, too.

2. Andrew Luck: Forget the fantasy implications of him getting pulled. I'm talking real-life implications. I don't understand why Chuck Pagano agreed to yank Luck so quickly. The Colts have again fattened up on a soft schedule and have struggled against better teams. Luck should have stayed in to get some good vibes against a playoff-bound team before leaving.

3. Saints: It's just odd how they never put it together this season. Their defense was bad, but not so bad they shouldn't have competed better. They could run the ball, could throw it well at times and even could block well enough. It couldn't have been all about Jimmy Graham being banged up, could it? Just odd.

4. Justin Houston: The Kansas City Chiefs' linebacker now has 18 sacks -- two shy of Derrick Thomas' franchise record. The Chiefs will rue the day they didn't get a long-term deal done with the impending free agent who is surely headed toward a franchise tag.

5. Percy Harvin: Only 460 total yards from scrimmage in eight games since the New York Jets made a head-scratching move for him. It'll be the decision that did John Idzik in, if indeed he's about to be fired. Idzik was preaching patience then made a panic move that didn't make any sense.

6. Buffalo Bills: Losing to the Oakland Raiders was a killer for sure, but this was undoubtedly a successful season for Buffalo. Hard to see it any other way. And there's still a game left to get to nine wins for the first time since 2004.

7. Jimmy Clausen: It's tough to make any sense of whether or not he helped Marc Trestman show his offense could be better with a quarterback not named Jay Cutler under center. Some good, some bad. Just might be too late for Trestman.

8. Tom Brady: If he's on the Patriots' roster this weekend, the $24 million total remaining on his contract over the next three seasons becomes guaranteed. Think the Pats will cut him before then? Exactly. The only question is whether Brady will make a strong push to have those team-friendly years reworked into a new deal. No word on that yet.

9. Terrence Fede: A rookie seventh-round pick from Marist blocks a punt that might very well have saved Philbin's job. What a league.

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Since Week 5, they've scored more than 17 points in a game only once. Just once. The bar is low, Marcus Mariota.

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