Panthers Wake Up in First Place - Now Comes the Hard Part
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Dave Canales went to bed Thursday night with his team in a three-way tie. By the time he woke up Friday morning, the Panthers were alone in first place in the NFC South - a spot they haven’t held this late in the season since the final week of their 2015 Super Bowl run.
That shift came courtesy of the Falcons, who pulled off a 29-28 comeback win over the Buccaneers after trailing by 14 in the fourth quarter. It was a dramatic finish, capped by a 43-yard field goal from former Panther Zane Gonzalez as time expired. And just like that, the 7-6 Panthers were sitting atop the division.
But Canales isn’t getting caught up in the standings - not yet, anyway.
“Everybody watched the game. The guys, the coaches, we all watched it,” Canales said.
“But we also understand that’s for next week. We play the Bucs next week.
We play the Saints this week. We’ve gotta have our focus here.”
And he’s right to keep the blinders on. The road to the playoffs - which would be Carolina’s first trip since 2017 - starts with a tough matchup in New Orleans.
The Panthers have multiple clinching scenarios, but the simplest path is to win out: beat the Saints on the road this Sunday, then take care of business against the Buccaneers at home on Dec. 21.
It’s a manageable task, but far from easy. The Saints already beat Carolina once this year - a 17-7 win in Week 10 that marked rookie quarterback Tyler Shough’s first career victory. The Panthers know they’ll need a sharper game plan the second time around, especially on defense.
Jaycee Horn, who’s cleared concussion protocol and will start Sunday, stayed up for every second of the Falcons-Bucs game. Watching Gonzalez - a former teammate - drill the game-winner was a full-circle moment.
“I was telling my girlfriend, ‘He used to play with us,’” Horn said. “I was just proud he hit it. It was a good kick.”
Horn’s return is a timely boost for a defense that will need to contain Shough, who’s shown he can make plays when the moment matters most. Horn knows the Panthers didn’t do enough to disrupt the rookie the first time around - and he’s not expecting anything less than the Saints’ best this week.
“It’s a blessing to be able to be playing meaningful football at this point in the year,” said Horn, who’s endured four straight losing seasons since being drafted in the first round in 2021. “We’ve still gotta focus on going 1-0 every week - or every day really, just winning the day and letting the chips fall where they may.”
That mindset has served Carolina well so far. They’ve battled through injuries, inconsistency, and a division that’s been up for grabs all season. Now, with three games left, they control their own fate.
The Panthers are no longer the team looking up at the standings. They’re the team being chased. And if they want to stay there, it starts Sunday in New Orleans - against a team that already knows how to beat them.