Ron Rivera has a message to anyone who looks at the NFC East, sees three teams tied for first place with records of 6-7 and scoffs.
“You’ve got nothing to apologize for,’’ Rivera, the head coach of the 13-0 Panthers, said Wednesday. “This is about winning your division. This just happened to be a down year for the NFC East, but a team gets hot and gets on a roll like we did last year, you can make some noise in the playoffs.’’
Rivera knows what he’s talking about. The Panthers finished 7-8-1 last season, winning the NFC South by one-half game. They went on to win a playoff game, beating the Cardinals in the wild-card round before losing at Seattle.
“Hey, if the Giants make it, good for them, because remember a couple years ago, they were 9-7, they weren’t one of the best six records, but yet they won the Super Bowl,’’ Rivera said. “So, again, there’s no reason to apologize. They got in because they got hot, they won their division, gave themselves a chance, and next thing you know, they win the Super Bowl. Tom Coughlin, the New York Giants, they’ve got nothing to apologize for if they put themselves in the playoffs.’’
LB Devon Kennard (foot/hamstring) has been ruled out and will miss his third straight game. LT Ereck Flowers (ankle) was not expected to practice, but he participated on a limited basis. The short week will not help his chances, but he is determined to playagainst the Panthers. DT Markus Kuhn (knee) and DE George Selvie (concussion) did not practice.
Among the several Panthers held out of practice was TE Greg Olsen (knee). Olsen leads the team with 65 receptions, rare for a tight end
“We’ll see how the week goes on and we’ll see how I progress and … we’ll get a better idea,’’ said Olsen, who has played in 139 straight games.
Eli Manning was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. He set a franchise record for completion percentage (27-of-31, 87.1 percent) in Monday night’s win at Miami and posted a personal record for passer rating (151.5) along with four touchdown passes in the 31-24 comeback victory.
Manning also won the award for his performance Week 5 against the 49ers. He has four Player of the Week awards in his career. Manning is the first Giants quarterback to win the award twice in the same season since Kerry Collins in 2002.