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CHARLOTTE https://www.carolinapanthersfanshop.com/Torrey-Smith-Jersey , N.C. (AP)Panthers coach Ron Rivera had just one word to describe his team’s tackling in a 31-21 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. ”Bad,” Rivera said Monday. ”There’s no other word for it.” Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks counted 12 missed tackles in all – by far a season high for the league’s No. 2-ranked defense coming into the game. Carolina (8-4) allowed 400 yards to Drew Brees and the Saints, dropping them to No. 6 overall in the NFL. More importantly, the Panthers fell one game behind the Saints (9-3) in the NFC South, which might as well be two games given New Orleans swept the season series and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Panthers were short-handed on Sunday with outside linebacker Thomas Davis limited to 39 percent of the snaps due to a hamstring injury and defensive end Charles Johnson out serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL policy on performance enhancing substances. Wilks, who took over as coordinator this season after Sean McDermott left to become head coach of the Buffalo Bills, called the effort ”unacceptable” and vowed the tackling problem will get fixed this week. Wilks said it’s a ”misconception” that players can’t work on tackling during the season because of the limits placed on teams as part of the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement. ”The tackling part, to me, is not a physical thing. Every guy in that room right there, they’re physical. They have those attributes or they wouldn’t be in that room,” Wilks said. ”To me it is an emphasis on detailing your work. … You have to get into position where you are ready to tag off each and every time, understanding where you help is and trying to leverage the football.” Rivera pointed to plays where players failed to wrap up and lost control of their games against Saints running backs Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram. The duo ran for 145 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday, including a 72-yard burst by Ingram that broke the game open. ”Part of (missing a tackle) is the result of not being where you’re supposed to be,” Rivera said. ”Part of it can be a guy can get downhill to his crease and instead of keeping that gap constricted, he works sideways – which you don’t want to do because it makes that gap bigger.” Rivera said that often led to a bigger area for the next defender to cover and resulted in more arm tackles and fewer shoulder tackles. ”It happens Dontari Poe Color Rush Jersey ,” safety Mike Adams said of the poor tackling. ”We will get that fixed though. We just have to do our job across the board, everybody. … We just have got to play better as a whole. A mistake on this play and on that play doesn’t help us at all.” The good news for the Panthers is they play their next three games at home, beginning Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings (10-2). Then they host Tampa Bay and Green Bay before closing the regular season on the road against Atlanta on Dec. 31. ”We have got to win them all,” said linebacker Luke Kuechly. ”I think that that’s the biggest thing. … We have our work cut out for us, but we are excited to be at home in front of our fans. They give us a lot of good energy.” NOTES: Rivera believes the team will have a better chance of getting tight end Greg Olsen back this week since the game will be on natural grass, rather than an artificial surface. — This late in the season, it’s wise to invest only in meaningful games, particularly those in which both teams have something at stake. Unfortunately, on the final weekend of the schedule, we don’t find too many of those. Most intriguing is Carolina (No. 7 in AP Pro32) at Atlanta (No. 10, AP Pro32), where there’s plenty on the line. The Panthers own a playoff berth and still can win the NFC South, though they need Tampa Bay to upset New Orleans. Atlanta, which came so close to winning the Super Bowl in February, must win or have Seattle lose to qualify. Although the Panthers appear to be the much better team Jarius Wright Jersey , they are 3+-point underdogs at Atlanta – the idea being there’s much more desperation for the Falcons. We’ll buy that, though if they were to meet in the playoffs, we’d go the other way. FALCONS, 21-20 KNOCKOUT LEAGUE TIP Kudos to anyone who has gotten to the final week of the season without being knocked out. Certainly that was not the case for Pro Picks, which finishes off the schedule with ATLANTA to play its way into the postseason. No. 6 New Orleans (minus 7 1-2) at No. 28 Tampa Bay Saints won’t stumble this close to an also-ran to penthouse turnaround. BEST BET: SAINTS, 30-16 No. 14 Buffalo (minus 2 1-2) at No. 24 Miami The Bills’ playoff drought continues. UPSET SPECIAL: DOLPHINS, 17-13 No. 23 Cincinnati (plus 10) at No. 11 Baltimore Ravens’ D could be scary in postseason, which they get into with … RAVENS, 23-14 No. 22 Oakland (plus 7) at No. 13 Los Angeles Chargers From 0-4 to a wild card. Nice rally, Chargers. CHARGERS, 28-19 No. 25 New York Jets (plus 15) at No. 1 New England Patriots secure yet another AFC top seed. PATRIOTS, 31-13 No. 16 Dallas (minus 3) at No. 4 Philadelphia Eagles already have home-field advantage for NFC playoffs. COWBOYS, 26-17 No. 8 Jacksonville (plus 3) at No. 15 Tennessee Jaguars are locked into AFC’s third seed, but they send Titans home. JAGUARS, 24-23 No. 32 Cleveland (plus 10 1-2) at No. 2 (tie) Pittsburgh Wonder if members of the 2008 Lions will applaud Browns’ perfecto. STEELERS https://www.carolinapanthersfanshop.com/Da_Norris-Searcy-Jersey , 30-16 No. 9 Kansas City (plus 4) at No. 26 Denver Chiefs are No. 4 seed, want to keep folks healthy. BRONCOS, 17-15 No. 27 Chicago (plus 12) at No. 2 (tie) Minnesota Vikings take No. 2 seed in NFC, set sights on hosting and playing in Super Bowl. VIKINGS, 26-9 No. 20 San Francisco (plus 6) at No. 5 Los Angeles Rams Hey Niners, pay Jimmy G now. Rams resting starters so … 49ERS, 30-17 No. 19 Arizona (plus 7) at No. 12 Seattle Disappointing and injury-plagued season for both teams. SEAHAWKS, 26-13 No. 21 Green Bay (plus 7) at No. 17 Detroit When schedule was made, this looked like NFC North title showdown. Not quite. LIONS, 20-10 No. 18 Washington (minus 3) at No. 31 New York Giants What a mess the Giants have become. REDSKINS, 30-14 No. 29 Houston (plus 1) at No. 30 Indianapolis What a mess the Colts have become. But … COLTS, 17-12 — 2017 RECORD: Last week: Against spread (4-11-1). Straight up (12-4) Season Totals: Against spread (108-113-10). Straight up: (153-85) Best Bet: 9-7 against spread, 10-6 straight up. Upset special: 9-7 against spread, 9-7 straight up —