Thanks to last week’s massive 23-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Carolina Panthers will have a chance to clinch the NFC South in Week 17. But they’ll need a little help.
For one, they’ll have to take care of business themselves—against the NFC-leading Seattle Seahawks at home. And that, of course, shouldn’t be an easy task—as the Seahawks will enter Bank of America Stadium at 12-3 and as the No. 1 overall seed in the conference.
The help, obviously, would have to come at the expense of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—who are currently one game behind the Panthers for the division lead. Carolina would benefit from a Tampa Bay loss to or tie with the 6-9 Miami Dolphins.
So, here’s the playoff-clinching scenario:
Panthers win versus SeahawksBuccaneers loss or tie at Dolphins
If those outcomes are met, the Panthers will capture their first division title since 2015 (and their first postseason berth since 2017) this Sunday.
And if they are not, then the Panthers and Buccaneers will match up for a winner-take-all showdown for the NFC South at Raymond James Stadium in Week 18.
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