Around the League

By Steven Taranto | 247 Sports

If you were to listen to most of the media following Cam Newton's trip to Injured Reserve, you would have thought that his days as QB1 for the Carolina Panthers were surely numbered. And there's a chance that they very well could be. But that's just one scenario in a situation that has no clear cut answers, and a franchise with a future hard to forecast.

Monday evening, following a demoralizing 29-3 loss for his team to their NFC South rivals in the Atlanta Falcons, Panthers owner David Tepper held a "for context" meeting with local media, discussing current events with his team while not offering direct quotes. During that period of time, Tepper discussed the future of his injured quarterback, and offered some level of insight into the situation the Panthers are and continue to be faced with.

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By John Sigler | Saints Wire

The NFL’s calendar is turning towards Week 11, with plenty of action ahead outside of the New Orleans Saints’ road game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here’s who Saints fans should pull for in every game this weekend. All odds are sourced from BetMGM.

Around the NFC South

Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers. Tough as it may be to accept, Saints fans should pull for a Falcons win on Sunday. It’s fine if that’s unacceptable; it’s never fun to root for the enemy. Especially when the Panthers are favored by 5.5 points. Ideally, both rival NFC South teams would lose. But Carolina is a closer threat to New Orleans’ lead on the division title, and a Falcons victory here hurts their draft positioning — possibly keeping them from landing some real help like Ohio State Buckeyes prospect Chase Young. Hold your nose and root for Atlanta.

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By John Sigler | Saints Wire

Week 10 delivered plenty of surprises to the NFL, painting the playoff picture in sweeping, sometimes-erratic strokes. It brought big changes for some Super Bowl contenders and a painful reality check for other playoff hopefuls, the New Orleans Saints among them. The Saints may have fallen flat against the Atlanta Falcons, but they weren’t the only favorite to get upset this week. Let’s run through the games that impacted this week’s standings.

Green Bay Packers 24, Carolina Panthers 16

What a game for the Packers, who were able to run often and effectively on what’s been a mostly-strong Panthers defense. Their two-headed attack of Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams combined for 156 rushing yards in a game that saw snow pile up as the afternoon drew on. Green Bay’s defense showed up with several sacks and frequently pressured newly-minted starting Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen, who put up a fight but wasn’t able to clinch a tough win on the road. Christian McCaffrey was effective as ever but ultimately came up short at the goal-line on the game’s final play.

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By DAVE CAMPBELL (AP) | Concord Monitor

MINNEAPOLIS – When the yellow flag flew for defensive pass interference on Minnesota Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes in a recent game, coach Mike Zimmer immediately contested the call.

His newfound right to seek a replay, however, went unexercised. The email Zimmer received earlier in the day from the NFL, containing current statistics on the experimental penalty reviews, had already dashed that hope.

“They haven’t overturned any, so I said, ‘Screw it,’ ” Zimmer said after Minnesota beat Washington on Oct. 24.

None of the 11 reviews of defensive pass interference calls around the league over the first nine weeks of the season resulted in a reversal, with officials ordered to adhere to a standard of “clear and obvious visual evidence” for any overturns. There were 63 pass interference replay reviews overall, including 26 for offense and 37 for defense and 22 for calls and 41 for non-calls. Only nine resulted in a reversal.

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By Cassandra Spiller | LWOS

Are the New Orleans Saints feeling the pressure to finish strong? The Saints generally play NFC opponents coming towards the end of the season. The team will have to go up against the Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, San Francisco 49ers, Indianapolis Colts, and Tennessee Titans with double appearances from those who are in the NFC South division.

Of the remaining games, a highly anticipated contest may be the now undefeated 49ers. The Saints last played the 49ers in 2016 ending with a Saints victory. The two teams are almost completely different teams since playing each other. For example, the 49ers have had an extreme makeover moving from last in their division in 2016 to leading the NFC so far in this season. The Saints have found themselves to be a solid contender for the Super Bowl two years straight. This will be a highly anticipated game, but until then, the Saints have to make it through its contenders...

By John Sigler | Saints Wire

The New Orleans Saints are resting during their bye week, but there’s plenty of NFL games to watch. The playoffs race is beginning to take shape, and the Saints have a commanding lead at 7-1; but they aren’t the top seed, with the undefeated San Francisco 49ers looking to hold onto that spot.

Like the Saints, a few other teams are also off this week, including the Atlanta Falcons (who are 1-7 this year, but have declined to fire coach Dan Quinn), Los Angeles Rams, and Cincinnati Bengals. With all this in mind, here’s your Week 9 rooting guide. All odds are sourced from BetMGM.

NFC South

Tennessee Titans (4-4) at Carolina Panthers (4-3). So, the Panthers got hideously exposed by the 49ers as very much a non-contender in the NFC after last week’s 51-13 loss. It’s too soon to celebrate, however, so get ready for a game between two backup quarterbacks (Ryan Tannehill for Tennessee, Kyle Allen for Carolina). The Panthers are favored by 3.5 points in what should be a low-scoring affair. Root for the Titans to bury Carolina’s playoffs bid before it can get back to its feet. This game will be broadcast at noon CT on CBS in the New Orleans market.

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