Column: Losses by Panthers and Patriots are stunning, and the way they lost is a bigger shock

At the same time people in Atlanta couldn’t believe their eyes, folks in New Jersey couldn’t believe their ears.

Carolina and New England, the presumptive top seeds in the NFC and AFC, went down with a thud Sunday just steps from the NFL regular-season finish line.

The Panthers were shocked by Atlanta, 20-13, watching their bid for an undefeated season evaporate when they suffered their first regular-season loss in 13 months.

The Patriots were upset in overtime by the New York Jets, 26-20, after winning the post-regulation coin flip then curiously opting to kick off instead of receive. The Jets took the opening possession, moved swiftly downfield and clinched the victory with a six-yard touchdown catch by Eric Decker.

In a confusing midfield exchange that some will dissect and debate as if it’s the Zapruder film, Patriots special-teams captain Matthew Slater told referee Clete Blakeman that New England wanted to kick off, then appeared to reverse his course on that decision. But it was too late, and the Jets would get the ball first.

After the game, however, Slater — son of Hall of Fame tackle Jackie Slater — told reporters that Coach Bill Belichick actually wanted the Patriots to kick off and that the only confusion was that Slater believed New England could choose the direction it preferred, as well.

“They don’t pay me to manage the games, it’s not my decision, so when I’m told to do something that’s what I’m going to do,” said Slater, who last week was selected to his fifth Pro Bowl.

According to STATS, teams have opted to kick off in overtime 13 times since 1997 and are 6-7 in those games. Belichick has done it three times during that span, beating San Diego that way in 2001 and Denver in 2013. Sunday, the strategy backfired.

That the Jets knocked off the Patriots wasn’t a stunner. New York has won five in a row, and can secure a spot in the playoffs by winning its finale at Buffalo.

The jaw-dropper Sunday was Atlanta beating Carolina, two weeks after the Panthers pounded the Falcons, 38-0. This is an Atlanta team that started 5-0, then lost seven of eight before halting the slide with a win over Jacksonville last week. Carolina was 14-0 and gliding into the postseason. Virtually no one saw this coming.

Carolina, which had scored at least 24 points in 13 consecutive games, could muster only 13 and couldn’t get to the end zone after scoring on its opening possession.

“That’s unacceptable, particularly at this time of year,” said Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, whose team can secure the top seed by beating Tampa Bay at home in the finale.

Atlanta’s Julio Jones, who was expected to be blanketed by Panthers star cornerback Josh Norman, had a spectacular game with nine catches for 178 yards, including a 70-yard touchdown.

Underdogs

The Falcons and Jets weren’t the only teams to pull off upsets. Baltimore toppled Pittsburgh, 20-17, in a game that was pivotal to the AFC playoff picture; and St. Louis won at Seattle, 23-17, beating the Seahawks on the road for the first time since a wild-card game in early 2005.

Baltimore, which had lost three in a row, the last two by a combined 69-20, leaned on quarterback Ryan Mallett, who was cut by Houston earlier this season, after reportedly having missed a training-camp practice because he overslept and a team flight in October because he said he “got caught in traffic.” He was the fourth quarterback to start for the Ravens in the last six weeks.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) faces a familiar nemesis in the Ravens on Sunday.

(Rob Carr / Getty Images)

Pittsburgh had scored at least 30 points in each of its previous six games, yet could barely muster half that against a bitter division rival. The loss snapped the Steelers’ 10-game winning streak in December and dealt a serious blow to their playoff hopes. Although a wild-card berth remains a possibility, they need to beat Cleveland on Sunday and get some help.

“We controlled our own destiny and we gave the ball away,” said Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who had two interceptions.

Seattle had won five in a row and was one of the NFL’s hotter teams, but never got on track against the Rams, who have assembled a three-game winning streak of their own. The Seahawks had held a lead in 62 consecutive games — an NFL record — but failed to do that this time. It was the Rams’ first season sweep of Seattle since 2004.

Regardless, Seattle is in the playoffs as a wild-card team.

Have we met?

Who in their right mind wants to play Arizona?

The Cardinals have won nine in a row, are guaranteed at least the No. 2 seeding in the NFC, and delivered a 38-8 beat-down of Green Bay on Sunday.

Arizona plays host to Seattle in its regular-season finale. It’s entirely possible that, counting Sunday’s victory and looking ahead to the playoffs, the Cardinals could have a four-game homestand that goes Green Bay, Seattle, Green Bay, Seattle.

Split personality

It wasn’t their best performance, but the Kansas City Chiefs won their ninth in a row Sunday with a 17-13 victory over Cleveland. With Pittsburgh losing to Baltimore, the Chiefs grabbed a wild-card berth.

That’s not bad for a team that lost five of its first six games. The Chiefs joined the 1986 Jets as the only teams in league history with both a five-game losing streak and a nine-game winning streak in the same season.

“We didn’t panic, that’s the most important part,” Kansas City linebacker Derrick Johnson said of the turnaround. “You can’t get too far in the hole, and we got as far as you can get to still make the postseason.”

The plot thickens

Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and offensive coordinator Chan Gailey will be heading back to familiar territory Sunday when the Jets play their win-and-they’re-in regular-season finale at Buffalo. Fitzpatrick played for the Bills from 2009-2012, and Gailey was their head coach from 2010-2012.

Waiting for them will be Bills Coach Rex Ryan, who coached the Jets from 2009-2014. Even though his team is out of the playoff picture, Ryan undoubtedly would relish delivering a playoff pink slip to his former employer.

sam.farmer@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATimesfarmer