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Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young.
There was one score that leapt off the page in Week 13 of the NFL regular season. That was the Carolina Panthers pulling off a 31-28 upset win over the Los Angeles Rams, who spent the previous month being called the best team in the NFC.
The most surprising score in Week 14 also involved the Panthers, who were on a bye week. That came when the lowly New Orleans Saints went on the road and pulled off a 24-20, upset win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Saints winning did the unthinkable, pushing the Panthers into a tie with the Buccaneers for first place in the NFC South Division with 4 games remaining in the regular season. Both the Buccaneers and Panthers now have identical, 7-6 records.
The win by the Saints also set up a drama-filled final month in which the Buccaneers and Panthers play twice, with Week 16 in Charlotte and Week 18 in Tampa to close out the regular season.
It’s the first time the Panthers have been in first place since 2017, when another No. 1 overall pick was still their quarterback in Cam Newton. That was also the last time the Panthers made the postseason.
Carolina was cheering hard for the Saints against the Buccaneers — a team they travel to face in Week 15 and lost to earlier this season.
“I’ve gotta be honest, I got a little emotionally involved in the game at times,” Carolina head coach and former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales told The Athletic’s Joseph Person on December 9. “It’s something I try to remind our players is like, watch these games but try not to get too emotionally connected … But how can you not? It impacts all of us in this division.”
Added Drama With Canales Leading Panthers
Canales spent 13 seasons as an offensive assistant coach with the Seattle Seahawks before finally getting a chance to be an NFL offensive coordinator with the Buccaneers in 2023.
While the Buccaneers only went 9-8 and didn’t exactly set the world on fire by finishing 23rd in the NFL in total offense, it was Canales’ work with quarterback Baker Mayfield that caught the eye of the Panthers.
Working with Canales, Mayfield had career highs of 4,044 yards, 28 touchdowns and a 64.3 percent completion rate and was selected to his first Pro Bowl.
That one season together transformed both of their careers. Mayfield, a former No. 1 overall pick who many had given up on, turned a 1-year, $3 million prove-it contract into a 3-year, $100 million contract and Canales landed his first NFL head coaching job.
Bucs Have Absolutely Owned Panthers Since 2020
The Buccaneers are trying to make the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season dating back to 2020 and win a record fifth consecutive NFC South Division title.
It’s been a stretch where the Panther have been absolutely owned by their division rivals. Since 2020, the Buccaneers are 9-1 against the Panthers, with Carolina’s only win a 21-3 victory in Week 7 of the 2022 regular season.
In that time, it hasn’t even really been close. The Buccaneers have won those 9 games by a an average of 15.7 points, including their biggest win in that stretch the last time the 2 teams played — a 48-14 win by the Buccaneers in Week 17 of the 2024 regular season.
Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame
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