My absolute favorite fun fact about the Carolina Panthers: The Carolina Panthers have never had two winning seasons back to back. Despite this, the Panthers have won 3 division titles in a row.

I love that fact. I love it. It sounds literally impossible but they still did it, going 7-8-1 that one season and actually winning a playoff game when they got to face Ryan Lindley and the Cardinals in the wildcard round. The NFC South was a complete joke that season. So the Panthers have one of the crazier team statistics in NFL history. Last year they were a playoff team. This year, they finally looked primed to beat the streak. They started 6-2. The South was always going to run through the Saints, but the Falcons had fallen off the bus and gotten hurt and the Bucs were a bust. They could easily sneak into a wildcard spot. Hell, at 6-2, they were only one game behind the Saints. A couple of lucky breaks and they could pull it off.

The Panthers have now lost 5 straight games. They are now 6-7. Two of their remaining games are against the 11-2 Saints. The other is against the Falcons. They have to win all 3 to earn a winning record. The Panthers have a rotted curse upon them and this will not be the year they exorcise it. If they do manage to do it, I am officially the reason why. The universe is specifically out to prove me wrong.

I’m sure readers might recognize this comic template, and that’s because I think this week is special in that not only did it honor this particular curse, it also honored the other two curses I have used this template for. The Steelers once again faced a bad team on the road and then ate shit at the last second. The Patriots once again went to Miami and then ate shit at the literal last second. Twas an absolute stellar week for glorious football schadenfreude. Honestly this week was amazing and you could write an entire book about it. The Miracle in Miami. Big Ben goes 0-4 in Oakland. The Skins go down 40-0 and send out Josh Johnson. The Browns air it out against the Panthers. The Dallas/Eagles crazy ending. The Bears shutdown the Rams. Joe Philbin uses both challenges within 2 minutes of the game’s start. Pat Mahomes throwing goddamn no-look passes. Derek Henry. Great week of football.

Are there any other bizarre fun facts that would fit this comic template? I’ve been trying to think of some. Basically anything that always randomly acts as an Achilles heel for some team. Maybe if the Chiefs fuck up in the playoffs thanks to bad clock management by Andy Reid that can be the next one.