Panthers face a weird final NFL weekend, but there’s one way to simplify it
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Panthers control simplest path to the playoffs: beat Tampa Bay Bucs Saturday.
- A Panthers loss means Carolina would need Atlanta to beat New Orleans to win NFC South.
- Bryce Young threw for a paltry 54 yards vs. Seattle; offense has to be better vs. Bucs.
The Carolina Panthers enter the final weekend of the NFL season with a number of possibilities in play and one overriding theme.
“We’re trying to change the narrative in Carolina,” Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard said. “We’ve been trying to do that for a long time.”
Carolina (8-8) will try to break a postseason drought that stretches back to the 2017 season and can do so in one of two ways this weekend.
The simplest: beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9) on the road at 4:30 p.m. Saturday (ABC/ESPN).
But even if Carolina loses that one, it’s not quite over. In that scenario, the Panthers would fly back to Charlotte on Saturday night still not knowing their fate, for there is a second-chance sweepstakes in play, too.
If the Panthers lose but Atlanta beats New Orleans at 1 p.m. Sunday, the Panthers win the NFC South anyway, backing their way in through the out door. In that situation, Tampa, Atlanta and Carolina would all finish 8-9, but the Panthers would win the three-way tiebreaker. If Tampa Bay and New Orleans win this weekend, though, the Panthers are out.
That all gets a little bit complicated, and the Panthers would prefer not to think about the game they’re not playing. Unless they lose Saturday, that is, and then they’ll be thinking about Atlanta-New Orleans very hard.
At the moment, though:
“You’re in the mindset of you’re in the playoffs right now,” Panthers offensive lineman Austin Corbett said. “It’s win or go home time.”
Well, not quite. It would actually be win and go home for the Panthers. The NFC South champion, by virtue of the NFL’s seeding rules, automatically gets one home playoff game the weekend of Jan. 10-12. That’s the beauty of winning a division — no matter what your record is, you’re going to host in the postseason.
“We’re aware of all those scenarios,” Panthers head coach Dave Canales said, “but it’s a pretty simple path. We have to handle business in our game. That’s got to be our focus.”
While the Panthers got drilled by Seattle last week, they’re still in better shape than the Bucs. Tampa Bay has gone 1-7 over its past eight games, losing one close contest after another while failing to come up with the big plays when it counts the most. Just two weeks ago, quarterback Baker Mayfield miscommunicated with wide receiver Mike Evans, which resulted in a game-clinching interception by Panthers safety Lathan Ransom.
Said Panthers defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson: “You want this. ... This is what you strive for. December football. Best time of the year.Gets physical. Everyone’s banged up. ... So who wants it more?”
Carolina’s main issue: Offense. Young and his compatriots had such a puny offensive output against Seattle that he only threw for 54 yards in 24 attempts. Young never completed a ball more than five yards past the line of scrimmage, and Carolina’s receivers got no separation from Seattle’s defensive backs. Tampa Bay is going to score some, by virtue of what Canales calls “a true basketball team” on offense. The Panthers have to match it.
For players like Hubbard, who’s been here since 2021 without sniffing the playoffs, the week has a special significance.
Said Hubbard: “Obviously, the last couple of years around this time you’re kind of just playing for pride, I guess you’d say, and for the love of the game. And we’re still doing that now, but it’s obviously more. ... Me and Jaycee (Horn) were just talking in practice about the highs and lows and everything that it took to get to this point. So we’re thankful and blessed, but we’re hungry. We know how much this means to us and Carolina. So it’s all or nothing.”
This story was originally published January 1, 2026 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Panthers face a weird final NFL weekend, but there’s one way to simplify it."
