Panthers miss an opportunity and now play Bucs for NFC South title in Week 18
Despite the loss Sunday, the Panthers travel to Tampa to play the Bucs in Week 18 with the opportunity to claim the division with a victory.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As Bryce Young kneeled out the final plays in the Non-Victory Formation, the Carolina Panthers knew they’d let an opportunity slip through their hands. They’d soon learn they’d also missed a chance to clinch the NFC South.
Panthers coach Dave Canales had declined to have the Tampa Bay-Miami score shown on the video boards Sunday, wanting his players focused on the Seattle Seahawks, who arrived in the Carolinas with the NFC’s best record.
The Buccaneers’ 20-17 loss to the Dolphins meant the Panthers would have won the division had they beaten the Seahawks. But before Canales made it to the locker room after the 27-10 defeat, Young and defensive tackle Derrick Brown were already encouraging teammates to move on to next week and the clash with the Bucs for the South crown.
“If you’ve got any type of grit to you, you wouldn’t have it any other way against a division opponent with an opportunity to send ’em home,” safety Nick Scott said. “So I think everybody’s head and heart is in the right place. Nobody’s sulking about this loss or dragging their feet. We’re just looking forward to next week, and we’re gonna practice extremely hard and do everything we can to be division champs and earn a playoff spot.”
The Panthers (8-8) can end a seven-year playoff drought Saturday by sweeping the season series with the Bucs (7-9), who have dropped seven of eight games to take the wind out of the sails of the pirate ship at Raymond James Stadium. The two teams will play at 4:30 p.m. ET.
There is a scenario where the Panthers could win their first division title since 2015 with a loss at Tampa Bay. It would require the Atlanta Falcons (6-9) to win their final two home games, against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday and the New Orleans Saints next week.
That would create a three-way logjam at 8-9, and the Panthers would win the tiebreaker based on their record against the Bucs and Falcons.
Backing into the playoffs with back-to-back defeats and a losing record would be the most NFC South thing ever. There is a much easier path, but that hasn’t exactly been the Panthers’ M.O.
Sunday marked the fifth consecutive time the Panthers have followed a win with a loss. On the positive side, they haven’t dropped two in a row since the first two weeks of the season. If that up-and-down-and-up-again trend holds, the Panthers should like their chances in Tampa.
“We know what’s in front of us. It’s clearly defined. It was going to come down to this game — us handling our business and facing the Bucs one more time on the last game of the season. Couldn’t ask for a better situation,” Canales said. “We’ve gotta get over the fact that we missed an opportunity with the Bucs losing that game. But our focus has to go to the next one — really quickly.”
Frankly, the Panthers should like their chances against Tampa Bay, which lost Sunday to a rookie quarterback (Quinn Ewers) making his second start. The Panthers have been there and done that (see: Tyler Shough).
