The Carolina Panthers have taken over sole possession of the No. 1 spot in the NFL Vegas Rankings for the first time this season.
The Panthers, as everyone knows, went 15-1 in the regular season and slowly moved up in the power ratings of our panel of ESPN Chalk NFL handicappers - Sal Selvaggio of madduxsports.com, Erin Rynning and yours truly, Dave Tuley - during the course of the season. Carolina jumped out to a 31-0 halftime lead over the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional playoffs on Sunday and held on to win 31-24.