Carolina Panthers players had the day off Monday following a lackluster loss to the Seattle Seahawks. They’ll return to Bank of America Stadium on Tuesday for a short week, but arguably the most important one for the franchise since 2017.

With a win Saturday at Tampa Bay, the Panthers will claim the NFC South title and end a seven-year playoff drought that is the longest in their history and tied for the second-longest, active drought in the NFL.

“It’s a true championship moment, (a division title-celebrating) shirts and hats games. It’s what you work so hard for all year,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said. “It’s right in front of us on prime-time football in Tampa. It’s gonna be fantastic. We’re excited about it. And that’s enough. That’s enough for the guys to understand — this is your shot. This is the last shot we have.”

The Panthers (8-8) actually could sneak into the postseason with a loss to the Bucs (7-9), but would need the Atlanta Falcons (6-9) to win their final two games against the Los Angeles Rams (Monday night) and New Orleans Saints.

Canales rightly chose not to mention that scenario. But the second-year coach touched on several other important topics relating to the Panthers’ playoff push.

• The Panthers are still deciding whether to activate Pro Bowl guard Rob Hunt and wide receiver David Moore in time for Saturday’s game. Both remain on injured reserve but have resumed practicing, with Hunt saying last week he thought he could get up to speed relatively fast after returning from biceps surgery in September.

When healthy, Hunt is arguably the Panthers’ best offensive lineman. Moore, who underwent elbow surgery after getting hurt in Week 4, is a dependable possession receiver with extensive special teams experience.

• Bryce Young had one of his worst starts Sunday, finishing with a career-low 54 yards on 14-of-24 passing. That was 30 yards fewer than his previous low-water mark from the Week 2 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024 that led to Young’s benching.

The Seahawks sacked Young twice and forced him out of the pocket on four scrambles, including a 10-yard touchdown. And while the pressure seemed to get to Young at times, Canales said he was “generally” pleased with the protection. Four of the Panthers’ top-graded offensive players by Pro Football Focus were linemen, led by tackles Taylor Moton and Ikem Ekwonu, who returned after missing one game with a knee sprain.

“I felt like consistently there was enough time to operate and Bryce felt that, too. He was going through his progressions. There were times he had to move and get out of the pocket. That’s life in the big leagues. That’s the NFL,” Canales said. “I didn’t see the offensive line as being a real limiting factor to what we could do yesterday.”

• Canales said the Panthers would miss receiving tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders, who will undergo season-ending surgery for a broken ankle. But Canales is most concerned about getting rookie Tetairoa McMillan back on track after the team’s leading receiver was held to one catch (for 5 yards) on a day when he was dealing with an illness.