With a victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, the Carolina Panthers would have had an opportunity to clinch their first NFC South title since 2015 in their next game.

But the Panthers lost to the Saints 20-17 and will play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday with the teams tied for the division lead.

“There’s two things going on,” Carolina coach Dave Canales said. “There’s a lot of guys who are really disappointed because of the missed opportunity that we had, and, at the same time, there’s a lot of great leaders in that locker room that understand we got a lot of football in front of us.

“We have to make sure that we move on quickly. We look at the film. We make sure we tidy up the things that we need to and get ready for the next game. And that’s really got to be the mentality so we stay together and finish this thing.”

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In its previous game, Carolina stunned the Los Angeles Rams 31-28 on Nov. 30. Quarterback Bryce Young threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan with 6:34 to play to knock off the team with the best record in the NFC.

It was the fifth time this season that the former Alabama All-American led a series in the fourth quarter or overtime that ended with a score to put Carolina ahead to stay. But there was none of that fourth-quarter magic against the Saints, who have four victories this season – half against the Panthers.

When Young connected with wide receiver Jalen Coker on a 32-yard touchdown pass, Carolina had scored on three of its four possessions and led New Orleans 17-7 with 9:54 left in the third quarter. At that point, Young had completed 10-of-15 passes for 140 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

For the next three series, the Saints had Young on the run. While New Orleans recorded only one sack, the Saints forced the Carolina QB to scramble four times as they rallied for the victory. Young finished the game 15-of-24 for 163 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions and ran seven times for 49 yards.

After New Orleans reduced the Panthers’ lead to 17-10 with 1:56 left in the third quarter, Carolina drove to the Saints 35-yard line, with running back Rico Dowdle converting a fourth-and-1 snap at the Carolina 42 and Young scrambling for 10 yards on third-and-9.

But the drive ended when Canales bypassed a 53-yard field-goal attempt for a Chuba Hubbard run on fourth-and-1, which the Saints stuffed.

“With inches to go, I felt confident in our guys,” Canales said. “I wanted to give Chuba the ball on that play, make that first down and continue that drive right there. So made that decision. It didn’t work out for us.”

The Carolina defense got its own fourth-down stop at the Panthers 23-yard line with 6:53 to play. In the remainder of the game, each team had two full possessions. Carolina got one first down and punted twice, and New Orleans scored 10 points.

“Just a lack of execution,” Young said. “Credit to them. They played well. We always give credit to our opponents. But, you know, for us, we are a team who prided ourselves on finish. Didn’t get that done today. It’s not going to feel good for 24 hours. We’re going to go back and grow from it and then turn the page.”

The Saints won on a 47-yard field goal by Charlie Smyth with two seconds to play.

When quarterback Tyler Shough ran up the middle for a 4-yard gain, the Saints were out of timeouts and at the Carolina 44-yard line. But Panthers safety Lathan Ransom got called for unnecessary roughness on Shough’s run, stopping the clock with nine seconds remaining and moving Smyth 15 yards closer for his kick.

Carolina had 11 penalties for 103 yards on Sunday.

“We pride ourselves in playing smart,” Young said. “A lot of penalty yards. As a leader, I take accountability for that. We want to make sure that we’re playing clean, we’re playing smart, whether it’s something we can get better at in practice, whatever it may be. Again, I have full faith in everyone. Again, that’s not our style of ball, but you got to turn the page. Again, for me, I take that accountability. You know, we want to play clean, but, again, is what it is.”

The Panthers and Buccaneers have 7-7 records for their meeting at noon CST Sunday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“Just want to go one and O,” Young said. “That’s always the mindset.”

The teams square off again in Tampa, Florida, on Jan. 4, the final Sunday of the regular season. In between, Carolina plays the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay plays the Miami Dolphins on Dec. 28.