The insidious thing about the NFL is the way it can hook even fans of bad football teams with playoff dreams. This brings us to the Panthers.

As Steve Reed details here, Carolina is in the hunt for a wild card spot. Barely.

But I seriously doubt the Panthers will be able to back into the playoffs at 8-8. There will be at least one other 8-8 team and that leaves too much to chance.

But is winning out to finish at 9-7 remotely possible? Well, we’ll soon find out. On paper the path looks impossible given the quality of the opponents. However. Jax is coming off a tough loss to the Colts and may look forward to a game with the Steelers. As such, Sunday has the potential to be a trap game for them. And we know the Panthers travel well.

Seattle? The Seahawks are a much different team away from home, especially when they come East. They’ll be coming off a big game with the Cardinals which could basically clinch the division for them.

Then the Cowboys, in primetime, on the NFL Network. Will the Boyz have anything to play for, or will they have home-field in the bag? (Hint: This means we hate the Packers and love the Boyz for the next two weeks.)

Then at Tampa, where anything can happen, particularly if the Bucs have the division in hand and the Panthers need a W for the playoffs. Yesterday’s biggest result was the Saints handing a game to the Bucs to give Tampa a three-game lead in the NFC South. With games with SF and ATL coming up, the Bucs are almost a shoe-in to win 10 games and the division.

So there you have it. My best, most delusional case for continuing the care about the Panthers deep into December.

Update: S-PIN reports that all divisions could be clinched next week. Wow. That would be interesting.