Headed for a critical game with the Niners, Carolina is in playoff position for the first time in years, and for veteran wideout Steve Smith the feeling can’t be better

Steve Smith is on pace for just under 700 receiving yards, but the Panthers' success gives him plenty of reasons to smile. (Mike McCarn/AP)

Stretching after practice Thursday in Charlotte, indestructible 34-year-old Panthers receiver Steve Smith found himself looking at the sky and thinking about how long it’s been since he was in a meaningful game this late in the season.

“I’m literally laying there,” Smith told me an hour after the stretch, “and I’m looking up, and this thought came to me: It’s good to be a Carolina Panther.

“You know how great that is? You know how great it is to go through a two-hour practice and instead of thinking the work I did today is not just because I signed a contract, but because we actually have a chance? Nothing to a football player is more degrading than going into a game hoping things don’t blow up into a disaster in the first quarter, or, for me, wondering if I’m going to catch more than one pass today. You start thinking, What did I do to deserve this?”

Not this weekend. For the first time in five years, the Panthers are least two games over .500 after eight games. (They were 6-2 then; they’re 5-3 now.) And just like in 2008 they go to the West Coast for game nine, hoping to stay relevant in the NFC playoff race. In 2008 it was a trip to Oakland and a 17-6 win en route to a 12-4 season—the last time Carolina made the playoffs. This year it’s a trip to face mighty San Francisco (and well-rested San Francisco, coming off its bye) in what is by far the glamour game of the weekend. Carolina is one game behind New Orleans in the NFC South. With New England and two Saints games on the schedule in the second half in addition to the 49ers, the Panthers will have to win one or two of these four challenge games to be serious contenders down the stretch.

Strange, obviously, to see Carolina in the game of the weekend. But watching the Panthers the last month, it’s no fluke they’ve won four straight. Led by a maturing quarterback, Cam Newton, Carolina’s playing efficiently on offense (“Whatever works, we use, and right now, it’s all working,” said Smith) without as much deep throwing as Newton is used to. On defense, a strong pass rush (Greg Hardy and Charles Johnson); a star-in-the-making defensive tackle in Star Lotulelei; an instinctive middle ’backer, Luke Kuechly; and an improving coverage group led by cornerback Captain Munerlyn have led the way. Who could have imagined, after the struggles of last season, and after the endless search to find a wideout partner for Smith so the Panthers didn’t have to overwork their running backs, that they’d have scored 35, 30, 31 and 34 points in a four-game middle-of-the-season stretch? Average margin in those four wins: 20.5 points.

The intensity of it will be good for some of our young players. It’ll wake some of them up. I think it’ll be a chippy game, which is in my element. Good old-fashioned football.

What a long, strange trip it’s been. “Think about it,” Smith said. “It’s been five years since we were in this position. Cam’s in some college somewhere—Florida, Blinn [junior college], I don’t know. [Newton was a Florida sophomore in 2008.] Star’s probably just getting out of high school then. He’s probably working some after-school job. Luke’s trying to become a great college player. Those guys have become key guys for us, and they’re all so young.”

Smith turned into a player-coach a couple times this week. During walk-through sessions before practice he stepped across from his fellow Panthers receivers and said, “This is what I see from the film.” He showed Brandon LaFell and Ted Ginn Jr., among others, what he’d picked up from studying San Francisco’s cornerbacks. Smith said he watched every pass thrown against the Niners this year, and picked up some tips about the San Francisco corners that he passed along to his receiving mates.

I asked Smith if the Panthers were ready for a game of this magnitude.

“I think this team is ready to play a game like this,” he said. “The intensity of it will be good for some of our young players. It’ll wake some of them up. I think it’ll be a chippy game, which is in my element. Good old-fashioned football.”

The key, to me, will be Carolina playing as well against Frank Gore as it has against the rest of the league’s backs in the first half of the season. If Carolina can duplicate its 3.7 yards-per-opponents-rush, the Panthers have a chance to open all the eyes that are still closed on this team.

About Last Night …

Minnesota 34, Washington 27. Could there have been a more agonizing loss for Robert Griffin III? Who, by the way, gets very little of the blame for this loss? Second-and-goal from the Minnesota 4-yard-line, 38 seconds left, Vikes up 34-27. Three straight balls Griffin puts on the hands of his receivers. Two incompletions, and one in which Santana Moss catches but can’t get both feet down in the end zone. Washington is 3-6, with San Francisco and Kansas City on the sked in the next month. Not promising.

Player You Need To Know This Weekend

In two starts, Case Keenum has posted a 118.0 rating. (LM Otero/AP)

Case Keenum, quarterback, Houston (No. 7). So far, Keenum’s played against two playoff teams, Kansas City and Indianapolis. His ratings: 110.6 against KC, 123.4 against Indy. Four touchdowns, no picks. With 10.53 yards per attempt, thanks to his deep-ball connections with Andre Johnson. It’s early, but it looks like we’ll be watching Act III of Houston’s changing of the guard at quarterback Sunday in Arizona. The MMQB’s Robert Klemko analyzed Keenum’s play so far and likes what he sees.

Sound Bite of the Week

“That’s unacceptable. You can’t do that. You have to keep your poise. You make mistakes that very often, and it’ll cost you the game.”

—Washington coach Mike Shanahan, after three egregious fouls by his players—defensive end Chris Baker, fullback Darrel Young and linebacker Perry Riley Jr.—contributed to Minnesota touchdown drives Thursday night in the embarrassing 34-27 loss to the Vikings.

Ten Things I’ll Be Watching For This Weekend

1.The latest in Scandalville. Wait 10 minutes. Like the weather in South Florida, the Richie Incognito/Jonathan Martin story will change. The Sunday pregame shows should be high theater.

2.Eli Manning drooling. The Raiders gave up seven touchdown passes to the immortal Nick Foles on Sunday, and now they fly cross-country to face the rested Giants, who are coming off their bye. (From the great beyond, I hear Al Davis grousing at the NFL schedule, which he used to love to do.) Oh, and D.J. Hayden, the first-round corner who was abused by Foles five days ago, strained a groin muscle in practice this week. If the Giants’ offense can’t thrive Sunday, they can mail in their chances at a miracle comeback to win the NFC East.

3.Eddie Lacy in prime time. No, not at night; the Packers face the Eagles at Lambeau in a noon local-time start. But he’s going to have to be the prime focus of Green Bay’s offense, with the very shaky Seneca Wallace prepping for his first start in a hundred years at quarterback. Lacy’s carries the last five games: 23, 23, 22, 29, 22. Without Aaron Rodgers, a 30-rush afternoon wouldn’t surprise me.

4.Roddy White vs. Richard Sherman. Looks like White will be playing Sunday at home against Seattle after the first half of his season was ravaged by hamstring and ankle injuries. That means he’ll be facing his old pal, Sherman, who’s having a very good year at corner for the Seahawks. They really dislike each other. Asked about the challenge of facing White this week, Sherman said: “What challenge?”

Midseason Report

We’re at the halfway mark of the 2013 season, so The MMQB is pressing pause to take a look back at the storylines, teams and players that made an impact or headlines in the first half of the season.

First, check out Greg A. Bedard's midseason All-Pro team and awards winners.

Then check out Peter King's quick thoughts on where all 32 teams stand with the playoff push beginning.

5.Cutler returneth. With Jay Cutler’s groin injury apparently healed enough to play, he comes back just in time for the grudge match against Detroit at Soldier Field. The first time the Bears and Lions played, Detroit was in control of a 40-16 rout with five minutes left, and the Bears scrambled for two late touchdowns. Bombs away on Lake Michigan.

6.Bandaged Bengals in a big one. Cincinnati is without Geno Atkins, Leon Hall and Rey Maualuga at Baltimore, and the 3-5 Ravens, two and a half games behind the Bengals in the AFC North, are playing for their division survival. This is one of the most stunning stats of the NFL season, and says it all about the Ravens’ failures this year: Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce each are averaging 2.7 yards per rush.

7.Robert Mathis. He needs half a sack to set a career single-season high (he has 11.5), and he should get it on the turf against the Rams in the loud Lucas Oil Stadium.

8.The Steelers: Tuning in or tuning out? After the worst defensive performance in Steelers history in New England last week (55 points, 610 yards allowed), we’ll see if they’re finished and simply too old on defense, or whether Mike Tomlin’s and Dick LeBeau’s words can lift them Sunday against Buffalo.

9.Jack Del Rio head-manning, again. Love what Del Rio said to his team this week in taking over for John Fox (who is recovering from heart surgery). Had a blunt, two-minute talk to the team Monday about nothing changing with John Fox recuperating from heart surgery. Ended it with: “Let’s go to work.” Just the right tone.

10.Gary Kubiak’s health. After suffering a mini-stroke on national TV Sunday night, Kubiak sits out Houston’s game at Arizona Sunday. He’ll watch on TV as Case Keenum tries to win one for the Kuber.