The undefeated Patriots talk started long before the leaves fell off the trees, but has society been focused on the wrong team?
Boasting a league-best mark of 11-0, the Carolina Panthers aren't afraid to talk about running the table.
"It's going to take us not playing our best for someone to beat us," defensive end Dwan Edwards said Friday, when asked if the team could go 16-0, per Joe Person of The Charlotte Observer.
Edwards feels it can happen, per Person, and why not?
The chance to go undefeated, though, has less to do with the schedule and much more with a Panthers team that grows stronger weekly behind a fascinating campaign from Cam Newton. The veteran passer has been a revelation this season, but Thursday's destruction of Dallas centered more around cornerback Josh Normanshutting downDez Bryant while Carolina's front seven gave the Cowboys nightmares up front.
When they face the Saints in Week 13, Carolina will enter the fray having not lost a regular-season tilt in over a year. Thank a smothering defense that hasn't allowed 30-plus points in a game all season, along with a ground attack that's lashed opponents for 100-plus yards in a league-leading 22 straight affairs.
Asked Friday if that Bears team, like today's Panthers, pondered going 16-0, Rivera -- a logical Coach of the Year candidate -- confirmed it, saying: "All you need to do is look at the (Super Bowl Shuffle) video. Yeah, we thought."
We don't need another music video -- please -- but Panthers fans have every right to dream about where this magic carpet ride might lead.
