The Panthers have been the NFL’s most consistently inconsistent team this season.
A win over the Jets in Week 7 capped a three-game winning streak and lifted the team to 4-3 on the season, but the last nine games have featured no streaks in either direction. The Panthers lost to the Bills in Week 8, beat the Packers in Week 9 and they have kept alternating between losses and wins since that point.
Quarterback Bryce Young’s performances have followed a similar pattern. Young threw for 448 yards and three touchdowns in a Week 11 win over the Falcons and then threw a pair of interceptions in a loss to the 49ers the next week. He followed that up with a strong game to lead a win over the Rams and things have flip-flopped from there.
Week 17 was a down week for Young, which led to a question on Tuesday about whether he finds it easier to turn the page from a bad outing.
“You’re not going to like the answer,” Young said, via the team’s website. “But it’s really not any different. Again, good and bad come with sports, and I think that’s the maturity you have to have at this level. Coaches challenge us with it, and you really have to take it to heart, good or bad, you feel like things went well or didn’t, you have to flush it the same way. You have to have the same approach. So, I’ve been trying to do that for a while now, so, at this point, it’s the same.”
The big picture for the Panthers would look better if they could stack winning performances, but recent history says that Young and the Panthers are due for a good performance against the Buccaneers in Saturday afternoon’s battle for the NFC South so they’ll sign up for another rollercoaster ride to close out the regular season.
Panthers Clips
Though he hasn’t missed a start this season, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield has been listed on the injury report with several different issues in 2025.
The Bucs have added another couple to the list.
While the club conducted a walk-through on Tuesday, Mayfield was listed as a limited participant on the estimated report with right shoulder and knee injuries.
Mayfield has been dealing with a left (non-throwing) shoulder injury since earlier in the season and has not been listed on the report with it in a couple of weeks.
At this point, it doesn’t seem likely that Mayfield is at risk of missing Saturday’s game against the Panthers, which may determine the winner of the NFC South.
Mayfield has completed 62.8 percent of his passes for 3,490 yards with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions so far in 2025. He’s rushed for 351 yards with a TD as well.
Cornerback Jamel Dean (shoulder), cornerback Benjamin Morrison (hamstring), outside linebacker Anthony Nelson (knee), and offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs (toe) were all listed as non-participants on the estimate.
Offensive tackle Luke Goedeke (ankle) and defensive tackle Calijah Kancey (pectoral) were limited.
Tight end Devin Culp (knee) was full.
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.
The Panthers and the Buccaneers were playing at the same time on Sunday and the Panthers made the decision not to show Tampa’s score at Bank of America Stadium in order to keep players focused on the task at hand.
When the game was over, Panthers players learned that the Bucs lost to the Dolphins. Had the Panthers won, they would have clinched the NFC South but they lost 27-10 to set up a Week 18 Saturday game for all the marbles in Tampa.
Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn admitted after the game that it made the loss a bit more painful while also saying that it didn’t change much about the team’s outlook.
“I mean, yeah, a little bit, yeah, a little bit,” Horn said, via the team’s website. “But our mindset was we’re going to have, we were going to have to go to Tampa Bay and win anyway, so we just got to go do that.”
The Panthers will win the division by beating the Bucs and there’s also a scenario where they win the division with a loss if the Falcons win out, but taking care of business themselves is the easier path back to the postseason. That made flushing the loss to the Seahawks as quickly as possible the biggest talking point in the locker room on Sunday afternoon and we’ll see how well they accomplished that task when they take the field next weekend.
After the conclusion of Sunday’s thrilling matchup between the 49ers and Bears, we now know the full Week 18 schedule to conclude the NFL’s 2025 regular season.
The matchup that could decide the NFC South is up first on Saturday afternoon, with the Panthers heading to Florida to take on the Buccaneers at 4:30 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN.
The Seahawks and 49ers will follow that game at 8 p.m. ET with their matchup that will decide the NFC West crown along with the NFC’s No. 1 seed and the bye week that comes with it. That game will also be televised on ABC and ESPN.
Notably, the Broncos will host the Chargers at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday on CBS. If they win, they’ll clinch the AFC’s No. 1 seed. The Patriots, who are also in contention for the No. 1 seed, will host the Dolphins at the same time on Fox.
Looking to clinch the No. 2 overall seed in the NFC, the Bears will host the Lions at 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox. The Eagles will host the Commanders at the same time on CBS with a shot at taking the No. 2 seed if the Bears lose.
The Ravens and Steelers will close the regular season on NBC at 8:20 p.m. with a battle for the AFC North.
For those on milestone watch, Myles Garrett and the Browns will play the Bengals at 1 p.m. ET on CBS with the defensive end one sack away from breaking the NFL’s single-season record.
Below is the full Week 18 schedule (all times Eastern):
SATURDAY
Panthers at Buccaneers, 4:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN
Seahawks at 49ers, 8 p.m., ABC/ESPN
SUNDAY
Packers at Vikings, 1 p.m., CBS
Browns at Bengals, 1 p.m., CBS
Colts at Texans, 1 p.m., CBS
Cowboys at Giants, 1 p.m., FOX
Saints at Falcons, 1 p.m., FOX
Titans at Jaguars, 1 p.m., FOX
Chargers at Broncos, 4:25 p.m., CBS
Chiefs at Raiders, 4:25 p.m., CBS
Commanders at Eagles, 4:25 p.m., CBS
Jets at Bills, 4:25 p.m., CBS
Dolphins at Patriots, 4:25 p.m., FOX
Cardinals at Rams, 4:25 p.m., FOX
Lions at Bears, 4:25 p.m., FOX
Ravens at Steelers, 8:20 p.m., NBC/Peacock
The Buccaneers lost for the seventh time in their last eight games on Sunday, but the curtain hasn’t dropped on their season yet.
Carolina’s loss to the Seahawks means that the Bucs will have a chance to win the NFC South and advance to the playoffs by beating the Panthers at home in Week 18. They don’t control their own destiny because the Panthers would win a three-way tiebreaker with the Falcons, but just being alive given the way they’ve played over the second half of the season is enough for quarterback Baker Mayfield to recognize their good fortune.
“Offensively, it comes back to execution,” Mayfield said, via the team’s website. “We gave ourselves a fighting chance right there but didn’t do enough. Those turnovers obviously crushed us. We still have a chance next week. We’ve been blessed with a chance next week and we’ve got to handle it the right way.”
The Bucs haven’t shown that they’re capable of that kind of performance in quite some time, but the Panthers haven’t been the model of consistency either and playing at home should benefit a team that is trying to win the division with a losing record for the second time in the last four years.
