Ron Rivera and general manager Dave Gettleman said after the 2013 season the Seattle Seahawks were the model the Carolina Panthers had to get to in order to win the NFC.

Carolina then had a deficiency in the secondary, but Josh Norman has since emerged as the NFL's next great cornerback.

The Panthers' defense has been good but it ranks 13th in total defense compared to Seattle's first ranked defense in 2013.

Cam Newton, like Russell Wilson, is capable of being a playmaker at quarterback with his legs.

Josh Norman of the Carolina Panthers is leading all cornerbacks this season in yards allowed, passer rating against, interceptions and catch rate.

Norman is on pace for an all-time season at cornerback.

Norman was a fifth round pick in 2012 out of Coastal Carolina.

The Carolina Panthers have won 11 regular season games in a row and it started with the decision to run more no-huddle on offense.

Cam Newton was given more responsibility to identify defensive looks and make play calls against them.

“The evolution of our offense, has been as much the evolution of Cam,” Ron Rivera said, via Jenny Vrentas of TheMMQB.com.

Rivera estimated that Newton is charged with making a call about what play to run about 70 percent of the time.