ATLANTA — The Panthers are NFC South champions, and so they have the Falcons to thank.
Carolina may have clinched the division on Saturday, however a 16-14 loss at Tampa Bay put the destiny of the NFC South within the palms of the 2 groups that had solely pleasure to play for. A win or a tie by the New Orleans Saints at Atlanta would have given the Buccaneers their fifth straight NFC South title. A Falcons win was the one consequence that will ship Carolina to the postseason.
The Falcons delivered with a 19-17 victory on Sunday. The Panthers received a three-way tiebreaker of 8-9 groups to achieve the playoffs for the primary time for the reason that 2017 season and win the division for the primary time since their Tremendous Bowl run two years earlier.
Watching on TV, second-year Panthers coach Dave Canales was locked in.
“We had been simply excited, following it each single play. (We) could not take our eyes off the sport.” Canales stated. “Simply the flip of occasions, I would not count on something much less from this matchup. Taking part in the Saints and figuring out the kind of soccer they have been taking part in down the stretch, and the Falcons are actually placing issues collectively.”
The sport got here right down to the ultimate minutes. Dee Alford ended a promising Saints drive with an interception he returned 59 yards, placing the Falcons in vary for a area objective that gave them a 19-10 lead. New Orleans responded with a landing and tried an onside kick with 1:11 remaining that Falcons tight finish Kyle Pitts recovered.
Canales stated his brother known as him after Alford’s interception.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Younger (9) throws beneath stress throughout the first half of an NFL soccer sport towards the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. Credit score: AP/Jason Behnken
“He’s able to have a good time, and I’m like, ‘Name me again. This ain’t over!’ As a result of if I’m (the Saints), I’m considering I’ve obtained a shot right here. Let’s go down and get the primary factors, get the onside kick and see what we are able to do,” Canales stated. “So I obtained form of (ticked) at him. However it was superb. All of us yelled like loopy. Simply actually lucky and proud.”
Minutes later, it wasn’t his brother who known as. It was proprietor David Tepper, who hasn’t seen a Panthers playoff sport since shopping for the workforce in 2018.
“Once I answered the cellphone, I stated, ‘Is that this the proprietor of the NFC South champion Panthers?’ He obtained a great kick out of that. However you already know, it is about all of us competing, treating each day prefer it’s fourth-and-1,” Canales stated.
The Panthers will face both the Rams or the 49ers. They performed each groups this 12 months, dropping at San Francisco on Nov. 24 and beating visiting Los Angeles six days later.
Because the division champ, the Panthers will host the playoff sport.
“I am simply so excited to be in Financial institution of America Stadium yet one more time,” Canales stated. “The power that is been there on the finish of our season as we proceed to construct momentum, and the followers exhibiting up early, being loud, inflicting issues for the opponents’ offense. I do know what sort of benefit that may be for us, so I am so excited to be right here.”
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AP Sports activities Author Steve Reed contributed to this report.
