Panthers have real playoff hopes despite upheaval. Steve Wilks deserves credit

Four weeks ago, the Panthers were 2-7, bad enough to be on track for the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. They had fired their offensive coordinator, fired their head coach and some assistants, then traded away Pro Bowl running back Christian McCaffrey and receiver Robby Anderson.

Interim coach Steve Wilks has seen his team win three of four games, pulling within a game of first place in the NFC South with four games to play. Strange as it seems at 5-8, they control their playoff destiny as it relates to winning a division title — the New York Times playoff simulator gives them just a 19% chance to win the South, but if they win their remaining four games, they would take the division at 9-8.

"It's thrilling, again, just for the men in that locker room, for how hard they work, how dedicated they have been," Wilks said after the Panthers went to Seattle and pulled out a 30-24 win over the Seahawks. "We found ourselves to be able to work through it. Always talk about don't allow it to get in the way, whatever it may be. It started with the coaching change. You know, I can go on and on with the different things, with players leaving, you know, coaches leaving, whatever. You know, those men in that locker room found a way to refocus and get it done."

Just last week, the Panthers cut quarterback Baker Mayfield, who was claimed by the Rams and promptly pulled off a two-touchdown rally to beat the Raiders. Their assistant defensive line coach left to take a job at Nebraska under former Carolina coach Matt Rhule.

And yet the Panthers continue to win and keep themselves in the postseason conversation. If double-digit wins at home against the Falcons and Broncos raised an eyebrow, then Sunday's victory should do much more, as Carolina had been 0-5 on the road.

In those last four games, the Panthers defense is giving up just 15.5 points per game, the fourth-lowest total in the NFL. Carolina has averaged 169 rushing yards per game, the fourth-most in the league. Those two — defense and a reliable run game — can go a long way together, as they did Sunday.

Up 17-0 early, Carolina saw Seattle narrow the score to 20-14 by halftime Sunday, and Wilks told his players that great teams find a way to finish games, a difficult task against a Seattle team exceeding expectations themselves in playoff contention.

Seattle drove into the red zone for a potential go-ahead touchdown on the opening drive of the second half, but Carolina's defense held them to a field goal to cling to a 20-17 lead. The Panthers had first-and-goal at the Seattle 3, a chance to build a cushion, but quarterback Sam Darnold threw four straight incompletions, the last on a bold call to go for it on fourth-and-goal.

Carolina's defense held, with Shaq Thompson and Brian Burns splitting a sack on third down to force a punt, and this time, the offense leaned on its run game and took control. Chuba Hubbard and Raheem Blackshear combined to rush for 66 yards on the drive, gaining at least 6 yards on all seven carries, including Blackshear's 8-yard touchdown run.

"I just felt like we had momentum," said Hubbard, who rushed for 74 yards on the day. "(The offensive) line was dominating, they were tired. You could see it. Line was just wearing on them. Everybody was just wearing on them. We were just pounding them. That's what we pride ourselves on. That's our DNA. Just running the ball, being tough and finishing. We did that today."

Another defensive stand and another grind-it-out drive on offense took the game down to the two-minute warning, so even when Seattle scored to get back within a single score, they did so with only 16 seconds left, and Horn recovered the onside kick to seal the win.

"With everything we've gone through, they've gone through with the different coaching changes, you know, getting rid of players, organization trying to tank it, you know, all those different things, and to see how those guys responded and came out and played today, it is pretty thrilling emotionally, yes," Wilks said.

Panthers ownership may want to make a splashy hire, a bigger name to draw interest from fans, but it's hard to imagine an interim coach doing more to actively turn a team's season around than Wilks has in the past eight games. Carolina is 4-4 with him in charge, and the next four games will give him more of a chance to make a case to shed that interim title.

Carolina is back home for two weeks against the Steelers and Lions, then they go on the road to finish the season in division, with a huge game against the Bucs in Tampa, potentially with the division on the line, then a finale in New Orleans while the Bucs and Falcons also face off in Atlanta.

"It's a big one to come out here on the road, obviously our first road win, but, you know, we talked about it. I mean, it's not surprising to any of us in the locker room," Darnold said. "Might be surprising to people outside the locker room or outside, people that are in our organization, but it's not surprising to us. The way we prepare, the way that we're confident in ourselves and the way that, like I said, that we prepare and the way we play, you know, we've been playing really well the last few weeks."

Greg Auman is FOX Sports’ NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.