The Panthers took a step toward making the playoffs for the first time since 2017 by beating the Buccaneers 23-20 on Sunday, but the focus in the locker room after the game was on the steps they still need to take.
A win over the Seahawks at home in Week 17 is not enough to clinch the NFC South by itself. If the Buccaneers win in Miami, the Panthers’ playoff hopes will come down to their Week 18 game in Tampa and that’s why quarterback Bryce Young wants the team to keep its celebration brief before they turn their attention back to the task at hand.
“Yeah, it feels great, and it’ll feel great for the next 24 hours,” Young said, via the team’s website. “After that, it’s not going to matter. This is what, Week 16? That’s not when the playoffs start. So there’s still a lot more work to be done. There’s still a lot more football to be played. Again, 24-hour rule, we’ll celebrate this one, but we know that we have to refocus.”
The biggest reason why the Panthers have not put the division away already is because they have not won consecutive games since a three-game win streak moved them to 4-3 in October. That’s kept the Bucs alive while they’ve lost six of their last seven games and this would be an ideal time for the Panthers to show the kind of consistency that has eluded them over the last couple of months.
