One thing Ron Rivera was always good at was getting the Carolina Panthers to win meaningless games in December. That talent carried over to his tenure with the Washington Football Team, apparently, as his team’s offensive ineptitude and “missed opportunities” led to a Panthers victory on Sunday. While this did hurt the team’s draft spot (at least for now), how did it affect the dreaded Power Rankings? Let’s start with ESPN:
24. Carolina Panthers (5-10)
Week 16 ranking: 28
New Year’s resolution: Win close games
You’ve heard this before, but the Panthers are 0-8 in games in which they have had the ball on their last possession with a chance to win or tie.