Panthers vs. Washington 2016: Time, TV schedule for ‘Monday Night Football’

Washington’s playoff hopes took a hit after losing two of its last three games, but the team is still in position to make a run for a wild card spot. On Monday Night Football they host the Carolina Panthers, who are pretty much out of the race thanks to a hugely disappointing season.

Despite falling behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the No. 6 seed last week, Washington is right back in the spot after the Bucs lost to the Cowboys Sunday night. However, at 7-5-1, Washington needs to build off its wild victory over the Philadelphia Eagles if it wants to stay in the playoff race.

Last week, the team trailed at halftime, but DeSean Jackson broke the game open in the third quarter, busting Philly’s defense with an 80-yard touchdown. Chris Thompson got the lead back late in the fourth quarter thanks to a 25-yard score, and Ryan Kerrigan sealed the win with a strip-sack of Carson Wentz on the Eagles’ final drive.

Although Washington needs a win to stay ahead of Tampa, its remaining schedule is not foreboding — the team has dates with the Panthers and Chicago Bears before closing the regular season at home against the New York Giants, whom Washington has already beaten earlier this year. Meanwhile, the Bucs had to play the Dallas Cowboys this week before facing the New Orleans Saints and Panthers. With Kirk Cousins leading a high-octane offense, this team is far from out of the chase.

If there’s one reason to watch this game, it’s to see Josh Norman clash with his former team. The Panthers put the star cornerback on the franchise tag last offseason, but surprisingly rescinded it, making Norman a free agent. He signed with Washington in less than a week and no doubt had this game circled on his calendar all year. Norman is having another outstanding season and is a big reason for the secondary’s improvement.

The Panthers struggled to find a replacement for Norman and their defense has collapsed as a result. Carolina is 23rd in yards allowed per game and just 30th in passing yards allowed per game. If there’s good news, it’s that Luke Kuechly looks ready to return after practicing in full all week. Kuechly missed the last three games after suffering a scary concussion in Week 11.

But the defense isn’t the only reason the Panthers collapsed this year. Cam Newton took an alarming step back from his MVP campaign, completing a career-low 53.5 percent of his passes for just 2,778 yards, 15 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in 13 games. He was particularly dismal against the San Diego Chargers, completing 10 of 27 passes for 160 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Newton has gone four straight games without reaching the 50 percent completion mark — not incidentally, the Panthers went 1-3 during that stretch.

Newton hasn’t been helped out by injuries to the offensive line and an ineffective receiving corps (Kelvin Benjamin has been downright terrible this year and was benched during the fourth quarter of last week’s loss). However, he used to be much more productive with limited weapons in the past, so the regression has to be concerning for Panthers fans. Just one year after going 15-1 and making the Super Bowl, Ron Rivera and his staff have more questions than answers heading into this offseason.

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET

Place: FedEx Field, Landover, Md.

TV: ESPN

Announcers: Sean McDonough, Jon Gruden, Lisa Salters

Online: WatchESPN