NFL teams don't tank, not the way you think it happens anyway.

Players don't care about improving draft pick position. That's just another new guy looking to take their job. Coaches don't have the job security to lose games. Tanking can't be uttered from the top down or teams will get in trouble. (Well, kind of.)

But there's little doubt that the best path for the Carolina Panthers and plenty of other teams the rest of this season is to lose. The Panthers play the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night in a game streamed by Amazon Prime Video and they'll be trying their best to win, even though the direction of the franchise might look brighter if they don't.