Carolina Panthers Underdog Status Upsets Team

The Carolina Panthers underdog status is something that really upsets the team, according to a report from the NFL.

This NFL season has been filled with plenty of surprises.

When the season began, very few people thought that the Panthers were legitimate contenders. The defense had a solid front seven, but never bothered to replace all the defensive backs that left in free agency. The wide receiver corp was already weak before Kelvin Benjamin went down in the preseason. They have shocked the sports world by going 10-0 this season. That stretches their overall winning streak to 14-0, stemming from the end of last year.

At the start of the season, a lot of people were pegging the Dallas Cowboys as Super Bowl contenders. They lost star running back DeMarco Murray to the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency, but everyone still had faith because they have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. Tony Romo and Dez Bryant went down with injuries, and the team suffered through a seven game losing streak that was just ended this past weekend against the Miami Dolphins.

Apparently, the sports books in Las Vegas are not taking any of that into considerations, as the Panthers are underdogs to the Cowboys for their Thanksgiving Day game in Dallas.

When asked about the slight, Panthers head coach Ron Rivera hinted that it was something that bothered the team.

“It’s nothing that we haven’t seen before. You know we’ve had a better record in some of our other games where we were underdogs. So we are going to take it in stride. As I said, we are going to play them one at a time and as far as we are concerned everybody is 0-0 and we’ll see how it comes out. It is a little disrespectful, I guess. But apparently they know something we don’t. We are just going to prepare and get ourselves ready for Thursday. We’ll show up.”

Rivera knows that it is an uphill battle for the Panthers to receive the respect that they deserve. As a handful of teams made it through several weeks of the regular season undefeated, everyone was talking about the Green Bay Packers, Denver Broncos and New England Patriots. The Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals were even getting more attention than Carolina was.

The Panthers should not worry too much about being under the radar. They’re a team that is built to become even better in the coming years.

Cam Newton has blossomed into a legitimate franchise quarterback and an MVP candidate. The former Auburn Tigers star is making smarter passes on the field. Newton’s size and athletic ability is just something that is really difficult for most NFL teams to prepare for. While he may never be as praised as Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, Newton has cemented himself into the top ten quarterbacks list.

Carolina also has a pretty good supporting cast. The offensive line appears to be coming together now. Rookie wide receiver Devin Funchess has developed into a reliable target for Newton, and he should form a potent combination when Benjamin returns from his injury. The defense is better than advertised, especially since corner back Josh Norman has elevated himself into a Richard Sherman clone. Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis, Shaq Thompson, Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short are a formidable defensive front.

The Panthers won’t be underdogs for long.

[Featured Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images]