Two straight losses have dropped the Carolina Panthers to 6-4 and three games out of first place behind the New Orleans Saints (9-1) in the NFC South.
The recent two-game span has the Panthers searching for answers when considering a blowout 52-21 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 10 followed by a close 20-19 defeat to the Detroit Lions in Week 11.
Tight end Greg Olsen admits he doesn't have solutions, but the veteran knows the team must pull together to get back on the winning track.
"I just think collectively as a group starting, obviously, offensively, and then just on a broader scale the entire team, we just got to really dial in now," Olsen told reporters, via the Panthers' official website. "We've got a heck of a stretch. We can't worry about what New Orleans is doing. We got to stop worrying about playoff pictures. We just need to win a game, you know what I mean?"
A team utilizing the approach of taking it one game at a time is often heard in NFL lockers rooms, but the rally cry certainly holds true in the Panthers' situation.
Four of the team's final six games are against divisional opponents, including two pivotal matchups against the Saints in Weeks 15 and 17.
Still, Carolina can't afford to look down the road or pay attention to the scoreboard when considering the team is hosting a dangerous Seattle Seahawks team in Week 12.
"In this league, it's so easy to get caught up in if this team loses and this team wins, and you get there, we can have home field," Olsen said. "If we don't win we're not going to be back in the playoffs. We just need to narrow it down, just win one game, and then we can worry about everything else. Sometimes in this league, that's just what happens. We just got to dial in and win one game, and after that, we'll go from there."
In the meantime, Olsen's mentality of not looking ahead and taking care of the current task at hand is the correct course of action given the Panthers' current record and standing in the NFC South.