Just two weeks are between the Carolina Panthers and a perfect regular season. While the No. 1 seed in the NFC is technically still up for grabs, it's unlikely that the Arizona Cardinals actually swipe it, so the only real motivation for head coach Ron Rivera to continue to play the Panthers starters in the final two weeks is to finish undefeated.
‘Riverboat’ Ron Rivera rolling the dice by playing Panthers starters
The Panthers are a team that has thrived off of having fun and riding momentum, so why start being conservative now?
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The Panthers are only the third team to start a season 14-0 since the NFL switched to a 16-game schedule. The first was the 2007 New England Patriots who blazed forward in pursuit of perfection and reached 16-0, but lost in the Super Bowl. The second was the 2009 Indianapolis Colts who rested starters and coasted down to the stretch to a 14-2 record before also losing in the Super Bowl.
Two different strategies yielded the same end result.
But for the Panthers, a 14-0 start to the season has happened while Rivera has encouraged the team to have fun every step of the way. When the team was criticized for dancing too much in victories, Rivera fanned the flames by giving dabbing his seal of approval and even dabbing himself. So letting go of the reins and letting the Panthers continue to have fun with their foot on the gas pedal is only to be expected.
Especially when one more win will guarantee the Panthers home-field advantage on their path to the Super Bowl.
"This next game has value," Rivera said on Monday of a Week 16 game against the Atlanta Falcons. "After that, these are players and they want to play. Is there a fine line? There probably is, but that's to be decided. When we get to the next game, we'll decide that. If the game has value, obviously there's no issue, but until we get to that game, we won't cross that bridge."
While Rivera said he hasn’t made a decision about his starters playing in Week 17, he also spoke about the dangers of keeping players on the sideline and tearing down momentum.
In 2005, Rivera was defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears when the team elected to sit starters in Week 17 after clinching a first-round bye with back-to-back wins. When the Bears starters returned to the field for the first time in three weeks, they were handed a 29-21 loss from the Panthers.
“At the time it seemed like a great idea; we all agreed, we thought it would be good,” Rivera said. “But after the game, it was actually Carolina that we lost to, we listened to what the players had to say. Guys talking about, ‘We were a little bit rusty, I wish we could’ve played more,’ because we had the bye week too. Just listening to that kind of reminded me and I’ve always tried to keep that in the back of my mind.”
The risk for Rivera is clear if he chooses to keep his best players in for the last two games of the year.
Cam Newton isn't a player who shies away from contact and there's a target on Carolina's back due to their undefeated record. In a 38-35 win over the New York Giants, Newton was hit in the side and appeared to have some pain in his shoulder and cornerback Josh Norman went to battle with Odell Beckham Jr. for most of the day and took a vicious helmet-to-helmet shot.
But they don’t call him Riverboat Ron for nothing.
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