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Panthers QB Bryce Young
It’s hard to win the bye week when you don’t play, but the Carolina Panthers did just that with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers falling to the New Orleans Saints 24-20. The two teams now have identical records in the NFC South at 7-6, but the Buccaneers remain in first place.
With the Panthers playing the Buccaneers in two out of their last four games and the Saints this upcoming week, the Panthers’ playoff fates are solely in their own hands.
The Panthers realize the magnitude of every game from here on out, and their playoffs don’t start in January, but right now.
Everything In Front of Them
Focus was a big preaching point for Panthers head coach Dave Canales. Coming out of the bye week, Canales knows that this stretch run is critical for the team, and they can’t look past a team like the Saints. Darin Gantt and Kassidy Hill of Panthers.com wrote about Canales’ message in his Monday press conference.
“The work brings us back,” Canales said. “It was a really excited group to be back out there, with the great opponent coming up this week, and knowing especially how tough the Saints played us last time, the guys are really excited about the opportunity.”
Canales then discussed how everything the team wants is right in front of them.
“We have to get back to football, and I hope that the group understands at this point in the season, every week is a championship opportunity,” Canales continued. “It truly is, and we have everything in front of us right now, so we’re excited to get back to work.”
Throughout the season, the Panthers have been like a roller coaster, often following momentum-building wins with crushing defeats. With time running out in the season and the division as tight as it is, the Panthers will need to break the habit. The team can’t rely on getting help every week, as they did from the Saints last week.
Canales Was Rooting For the Saints
Last week, during their bye, the Panthers found themselves in a strange position: Rooting for the Saints. The Saints’ victory over the Buccaneers has enabled the Panthers to control their destiny for the end of the season, and head coach Dave Canales was well aware of that while watching the Saints win.
Anthony Rizzuti of Panthers Wire wrote about Canales discussing how locked in he was on the game.
“I was watching the game, yeah. Wanted to make sure I was connected to the story of it,” Canales replied. “Gotta be honest—I got a little emotionally involved in the game, at times. It’s something I try to remind our players is, like, ‘Hey, watch these games, let’s try not to get too emotionally connected.’”
Canales was rooting for the Saints for two reasons: one for division implications, and the second to re-establish to his team that they can’t look past any opponent.
“I mean, anything that helps, right?” Canales stated. “We’re all competin’ out here. And honestly, knowing that they’re playing good football, knowing that it’s gonna require the best of us, allows us to make sure that the focus is right. It heightens the awareness, so that we understand—every single week, this league is full of teams, especially the ones that are finding their best ball late in the season. It’s a really important opportunity for us.”
Now, whatever rooting interest Canales had in the Saints is in the rear view, as he tries to lead his team past them on the Panthers’ first step to the NFC South title.
Chad Gelfand Chad Gelfand is a journalist covering the NFL with focus on the Baltimore Ravens, Seattle Seahawks, and Carolina Panthers for Heavy.com. Gelfand has over six years of writing experience.
Gelfand previously covered the Philadelphia Eagles for Last Word On Sports. He also has experience writing in the worlds of entertainment and wrestling.
Gelfand was an Entertainment writer for the List.com, and a contributor for Fansided’s wrestling website Daily DDT and The Wrestling Estate. Gelfand has also appeared multiple times as a guest on POST Wrestling’s “Bushby and Thompson’s Wrestling Adventure” podcast. More about Chad Gelfand
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