Carolina Panthers interim head coach Steve Wilks began the week stating that his team needed to find a playoff mentality heading into the final five weeks of the regular season. Wilks also challenged the team to do something that they hadn't done all season long, win on the road and win back-to-back games. The Panthers achieved both of those goals on Sunday, winning, 30-24, at Seattle to announce themselves as true contenders in the NFC South title race.

The Panthers division championship hopes were aided by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers blowout loss at San Francisco. Carolina now sits one game back of Tampa with a Week 17 trip to Tampa on the slate. Simply, if the Panthers win out they'll be NFC South champs.

Wilks is now 4-4 since taking over and has established an identity on both sides of the ball for Carolina. Has Wilks shown Panthers owner David Tepper that he's the right man for the job moving forward?

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