CHARLOTTE — The Canales family was piled onto their couch Sunday afternoon, every bit of attention on the television, anxiousness around the Panthers' postseason chances palpable in the air. The Falcons, whom the Panthers needed to defeat the Saints in order for Carolina to win the tie-breaker and become the NFC South division winner, were leading New Orleans 16-10.

But the Saints were driving, Tyler Shough was dealing, and New Orleans was in the red zone. Then, the Falcons swooped. Shough was looking for Samori Toure when Dee Alford jumped the pass. He returned the interception 59 yards, setting Atlanta up in field goal range, and Dave Canales' phone went crazy.

"My brother called me after the interception," the coach laughed, relaying the story Sunday afternoon after the Falcons beat the Saints 19-17 to give the Panthers a postseason berth.

"He's ready to celebrate, and I was like, 'Call me back!' I was like, 'This ain't over. If I'm on the other side, I'm thinking we got a shot here.'

"So I got kind of pissed at him, but it was amazing. We all yelled like crazy and just really, really fortunate and proud."

Once the game did finally conclude—after another Saints touchdown that confirmed Canales' initial hesitation, but then an unsuccessful onside kick attempt that gave Atlanta the win—the coach stepped outside and found a neighborhood that was likely indicative of what the entire city of Charlotte was feeling at the moment.

"I'm just so excited for Panthers fans everywhere. The neighborhood is crazy," shared Canales. "We were yelling from our couch as a family and walked outside where we normally ride bikes and walk the dogs, and there were just neighbors out in front in the front yards. Everyone was really excited."

The Panthers can take a moment this Sunday to celebrate being division champions for the first time since 2015 because while the road wasn't easy, and it certainly wasn't predictable, it did lead them here. It took sweeping the Falcons, taking the first win against the Buccaneers in Week 16, putting together a three-game win streak early in the season, and stealing huge wins against the Packers and the Rams to bring them here, but it got done.

"Just proud of this team, proud of the coaches, the players, everybody involved," bragged Canales. "It took the whole season, it took 17 games, capturing opportunities along the way to be in position for this, and we're ready to chase the next championship opportunity in front of us."

The emotions were on the surface in the locker room Saturday night following the Panthers' 16-14 loss to the Bucs. Their fate, their destiny, was in someone else's hands, and that's a hard pill to swallow for a competitor. Now emotions are on the other end of the spectrum. In a sport that relies on consistency and steadiness, it's an interesting complex that Canales and staff must manage this week with a young team.

They'll start by getting them back on the grass.

"The work always brings us back," Canales preached. "Whether it's a big win, a big loss—they're all big—but whatever the outcome of the last game is, the work snaps us out of it. The work brings us back.

"I'm so grateful to have one more opportunity to get back to work where we can get on that grass. We go through the preparation, we have our meetings, and once we're in cleats and once we're on that grass, it's like the next thing becomes really clear, the focus of what we're doing, the walkthroughs, and the opponent. It just becomes all about that, and that's what's so cool about this time of year.

"It's like, here we go, we get one more opportunity. Let's keep this, let's make this statement true. 1-0 with a chance to win the championship, how long can we keep that statement true?"

Coaches and players were in their own homes Sunday, consuming the Falcons-Saints game in their own ways—some admitted on Saturday night they might not watch, only check in on the final score, while others said they'd be glued to their TV—and since they were unable to clinch the division in Tampa Bay last night, they won't have the traditional hat's and t-shirt celebratory moment.

But they also don't care.

They made their way into the playoffs and will host a playoff game at home this coming weekend, a chance to play in front of the fans again, and that's what matters.

"Championship opportunity right in front of us. How long can we keep that statement true? That was my message to the group over a month ago," Canales shared.

"We got another week. We get to hang around with each other. We love working together, we love being on the grass, that type of an environment, and that was my message last week, guys, like, let's go get this win so we can do this again another week. We're having way too much fun. And we didn't get that done yesterday, but here we are with everything in front of us, and everybody's record is obsolete now.

"It's all 1-and-0, and we got the 1-and-0 mentality with a chance for a championship, and here we are."