Carolina cornerback Bené Benwikere didn’t need to be in the Georgia Dome last December to know the Panthers’ defensive backs had left their mojo in Charlotte.
Benwikere, watching from his home in Charlotte while recovering from a broken leg, noticed how calm and understated cornerback Josh Norman, in particular, was a week after his personal foul-filled grudge match with New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham.
What followed was a listless 20-13 loss to the Falcons in Week 16 that ended the Panthers’ dreams of a perfect season.
Norman is gone and last year’s game won’t have any bearing on Sunday’s final Panthers-Falcons matchup in the Georgia Dome, which the Falcons are leaving for a $1.