How Panthers could still win NFC South with loss to Buccaneers in Week 18

Are the Carolina Panthers in a win-win situation before facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? Even the one-sided loss to the Seattle Seahawks wasn’t as damaging as many think involving the NFC South race.

That’s because Carolina could end up in a three-way tie atop the division.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports outlined the remaining scenarios there. Carolina at Tampa Bay next week isn’t exactly a winner-take-all scenario. Florio states there’s a caveat involving the Atlanta Falcons.

“If they win the last two (Rams, Saints) and if the Bucs beat the Panthers, there would be a three-way tie atop the division,” Florio wrote, adding how 2011 in the AFC West was the last time a three-way tie happened (the Denver Broncos ultimately won the division off tiebreaker rules).

How the Panthers win by virtue of tiebreaker scenario over Buccaneers

Florio further dove into how Carolina, not Tampa Bay, can win the division and enter the NFL Playoffs.

“In a three-way tiebreaker, the Panthers would win the division by virtue of the best record in the three-way round robin. By virtue of a sweep of the Falcons, the Panthers would be 3-1, and the Bucs would be 2-2,” Florio wrote. “So the Panthers can lose to the Bucs and win the division, if the Falcons win out. Which will make the Panthers into massive Rams fans on Monday night.”

The Bucs can still win the division with a victory. But either the Rams or Saints must help too. A loss officially eliminates the Bucs from the postseason for the first time since the 2019 season. Losing to Carolina also ends Tampa’s four-season streak of winning the division.

The Panthers, though, need a rejuvenated Bryce Young next week. Young already wants to wipe away Sunday’s dismal outing. He took two sacks and an interception in the loss.

Head coach Dave Canales will also want a team that keeps its composure and not commit costly mistakes. Carolina was called for a personal foul facemask on a 3rd-and-21 — ultimately helping lead to three points for Seattle before the ‘Hawks pulled away. Canales is now facing his biggest Week 18 contest yet in his young head coaching career.

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