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After coming out to an 0-2 start, it seemed like the beginning of a long season for the Carolina Panthers that would assuredly end with Ron Rivera being fired as the team's head coach. Instead, Ron has gotten aggressive with his offense and his defense has improved dramatically. The Panthers are 6-1 in their last 7 games, scoring 30+ in 5 of those wins.
On the other side of the field tonight, the New England Patriots remain the same team. The offense, with Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski and not much else, puts up a ton of points and will finish as one of the league's best at the end of the year. The defense is inconsistent, but good enough, and gets a bunch of turnovers. The Patriots are well-coached and very disciplined, and are quietly 7-2 through 9 games.
Remember when these two met in the Super Bowl a few years back? It feels like ages ago because of how different the Panthers are since then, but this is a possible Super Bowl matchup again this season. Should be a fun game.