With a division title on the line this weekend, the Panthers did not have one of their key offensive players on the field on Tuesday. But the club is still planning on having him against the Buccaneers on Saturday.
Running back Rico Dowdle (toe) was listed as a non-participant on Tuesday’s injury report, with head coach Dave Canales saying in his press conference that Dowdle is still likely to play.
“He’s got a sore toe,” Canales said. “Came out of the game a little bit more sore than normal, and so we just decided to give him a rest day. I’m pretty confident he’ll be able to go, but we’ve got to take it day-by-day and see what he can do tomorrow.”
Dowdle leads the Panthers with 1,066 yards with six touchdowns, averaging 4.7 yards per carry. He’s also caught 37 passes for 277 yards with a TD.
The Panthers also listed Krys Barnes (back), Claudin Cherelus (calf/ankle), Robert Rochell (concussion), and Ja’Tavion Sanders (fibula) as non-participants.
Robert Hunt (biceps), David Moore (elbow), and Turk Wharton (hamstring) were listed as full.
Carolina’s Tuesday report is an estimation, as the club conducted a walk-through and not a full practice.
The Buccaneers are favored to win Saturday’s big NFC South showdown. Unfortunately for them, that’s not enough to win the division.
The Panthers are the betting favorites to win the NFC South, thanks to their path to winning the division via a three-way tied with the Buccaneers and Falcons.
Current betting odds have the Bucs as 2.5-point favorites to win at Tampa Bay on Saturday. That would leave the Bucs and Panthers tied at 8-9 atop the NFC South, and for the time being put the Buccaneers ahead of the Panthers via the division record tiebreaker.
But to win the NFC South, the Buccaneers need to win a two-team tiebreaker with the Panthers. If the Falcons beat the Saints on Sunday, the Falcons will also be 8-9, and in a three-way tiebreaker, the Panthers will win the division because the Panthers have the best record in games among all three teams.
The Falcons are three-point favorites to beat the Saints on Sunday, and that would be enough to hand the division to the Panthers regardless of what happens in Saturday’s Panthers-Buccaneers game. The current betting odds have the Panthers as -400 favorites to win the NFC South, and the Buccaneers as +310 underdogs.
Ultimately, the Panthers control their own path to the playoffs: Win and they’re the division champions. The Buccaneers need two things to happen: They need to win and they need help from the Saints beating the Falcons. And the odds are against that happening.
The Buccaneers would like to have all hands on deck for their Week 18 game against the Panthers and they had a key piece of their offensive line back on the practice field Tuesday.
According to multiple reports, left tackle Tristan Wirfs returned to action after missing all of last week with a toe injury. Wirfs was also inactive for Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins.
The team’s injury report will bring word of Wirfs’ participation level as the team gets ready for Saturday afternoon’s game.
Reports also indicate cornerback Jamel Dean and edge rusher Haason Reddick are at practice. Dean hurt his shoulder against Miami while Reddick was evaluated for a concussion.
The 2025 NFL regular season comes to an end on Sunday, and two playoff berths are still to be determined, with the AFC North and NFC South on the line. Also still up for grabs are most of the seeds, including the No. 1 seed in both the AFC and NFC. The full Week 18 Playoff Scenarios distributed by the NFL are below:
AFC
CLINCHED:
Denver Broncos (13-3) – AFC West
New England Patriots (13-3) – AFC East
Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4) – playoff berth
Buffalo Bills (11-5) – playoff berth
Houston Texans (11-5) – playoff berth
Los Angeles Chargers (11-5) – playoff berth
SCENARIOS:
Denver Broncos (13-3) vs. Los Angeles Chargers (11-5); Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS
Denver clinches the AFC’s No. 1 seed, lone first-round bye and home-field advantage with:
DEN win OR
DEN tie + NE loss or tie OR
NE loss + JAX loss or tie
New England Patriots (13-3) vs. Miami (7-9); Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX
New England clinches the AFC’s No. 1 seed, lone first-round bye and home-field advantage with:
NE win + DEN loss or tie OR
NE tie + DEN loss
Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4) vs. Tennessee (3-13); Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, FOX
Jacksonville clinches AFC South division title and the AFC’s No. 1 seed, lone first-round bye and home-field advantage with:
JAX win + DEN loss + NE loss
Jacksonville clinches AFC South division title with:
JAX win or tie OR
HOU loss or tie
Houston Texans (11-5) vs. Indianapolis (8-8); Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
Houston clinches AFC South division title with:
HOU win + JAX loss
Baltimore Ravens (8-8) at Pittsburgh (9-7); Sunday night, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
Baltimore clinches AFC North division title with:
BAL win
Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7) vs. Baltimore (8-8); Sunday night, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
Pittsburgh clinches AFC North division title with:
PIT win or tie
NFC
CLINCHED:
Seattle Seahawks (13-3) – playoff berth
San Francisco 49ers (12-4) – playoff berth
Chicago Bears (11-5) – NFC North
Los Angeles Rams (11-5) – playoff berth
Philadelphia Eagles (11-5) – NFC East
Green Bay Packers (9-6-1) – playoff berth
San Francisco 49ers (12-4) vs. Seattle (13-3); Saturday night, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC
San Francisco clinches NFC West division title and the NFC’s No. 1 seed, lone first-round bye and home-field advantage with:
SF win
Seattle Seahawks (13-3) at San Francisco (12-4); Saturday night, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC
Seattle clinches NFC West division title and the NFC’s No. 1 seed, lone first-round bye and home-field advantage with:
SEA win or tie
Carolina Panthers (8-8) at Tampa Bay (7-9); Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC
Carolina clinches NFC South division title with:
CAR win or tie OR
ATL win
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9) vs. Carolina (8-8); Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC
Tampa Bay clinches NFC South division title with:
TB win + ATL loss or tie
A rare NFL three-way is now firmly in play.
With the Falcons beating the Rams on Monday night, 27-24, Saturday’s standalone Buccaneers-Panthers game is no longer a true NFC South championship game.
Yes, Carolina wins the division with a victory in Tampa. If the Bucs win, however, the division won’t be decided until the next day, when the Falcons host the Saints.
If the Buccaneers beat the Panthers on Saturday and the Falcons beat the Saints on Sunday, Tampa Bay, Carolina, and Atlanta would each finish 8-9. The ensuring three-team tie would go to the Panthers, based on a 3-1 record in the round robin among the division rivals.
A three-team tie atop a division last happened in 2011, when the Broncos won the AFC West at 8-8. The Chargers and Raiders also finished 8-8, with the Chiefs at 7-9.
A loss by Atlanta on Sunday (following a Tampa win on Saturday) would leave only Carolina and Tampa Bay tied. The two-way tiebreaker goes to the Bucs, based on record against common opponents. That would give Tampa Bay it’s fifth straight division tile and sixth consecutive playoff berth.
For that reason alone, some thought the NFL would schedule Panthers-Bucs and Saints-Falcons for 1:00 p.m. ET (or 4:25 p.m. ET) on Sunday. Instead, the Panthers will face with Buccaneers, with the possibility of a major asterisk being applied to the outcome, if the Bucs snap out of a four-game funk and get the win.
