CHARLOTTE — The Panthers had just lost their third straight game, 26-21 to the Broncos, to fall to 3-5.

So looking for silver linings wasn't the order of the day, or anything anyone was interested in.

And yet.

For a few hours at least, they're still tied for first place in the NFC South.

The Buccaneers are also 3-5, heading into tonight's game at Chicago on Sunday Night Football. The Saints improved to 3-5 with an overtime win over the Browns. And the Falcons are only a half-game back at 3-6 after losing to the Bengals in Spain.

NFC South standings, pre-SNF

The Buccaneers play at Chicago on Sunday Night Football

It's not a lot, but the Panthers at least have experience in this situation, having won the division at 8-9 last season, after 10 games of alternating results.

"Yeah, I mean, you guys saw last year there was a bunch of ups and downs every single week, and we can't have that too far into the future (mentality)," tight end Tommy Tremble said. "Oh no, it's over. Oh no, we're good. Oh, it's over. No, we're good.

"Just as a unit, this coaching staff, the locker room, we don't focus on that. We focus on what we got to do this week. And as long as we, all 11 people, do our jobs, we can win."

Tremble was in the middle of the bizarre sequence that defined Sunday's loss, but the fact they lined up and (tried to, at least) run another play immediately spoke to the phenomenon.

"You never think too far in the future. You never think too far in the past. And that's how we've got to play," Tremble said. "We've got to play in the moment, not thinking about the record. We got to think about winning the games we need to win and winning the games that week. And so that's our plan for this, next, and upcoming weeks. And every week after that, we focus on winning that game that week. . . .

"It shows what kind of team we are, man, what kind of leaders we have in the locker room and on the sidelines, and so it shows a team that's ready to win every single game, doesn't get defeated when something bad happens. And so, I think that's the type of team you need to have in the NFL if you want to have success. You've got to be able to overcome that kind of adversity and have that mental toughness, and that's the kind of team that I think we have."

It helps that the Panthers return to division play next week, at New Orleans. The Saints swept the Panthers last year, which they likely haven't forgotten even though their focus is immediate.

"We have to take it one week at a time," quarterback Bryce Young said. "We know that we're all competitors. We all play for each other. Of course hasn't been the most fun stretch, but we're in the middle of the season, there's going to be ebbs and flows, we always have to have that next play, next day, next week mentality. And I'm super fortunate to be in a locker room like this, we're competitors.

"It doesn't feel great right now, but they're able to turn the page, able to flush it, and get back to work next week, so we're excited for the opportunity."

Even after the third-quarter gut-punch, they still had the ball with a chance to win late.

And again, all the guys who were part of last year's playoff team (which was actually the second Panthers team to go to win the division with a losing record, along with the 7-8-1 champs in 2014) remember this. But even players who were elsewhere understand this is far from over.

Center Luke Fortner was part of a Jaguars team in 2022 that started 3-7 and made the playoffs, and a 2023 Jaguars team that started 8-3 and missed the postseason. So he knows that it's still November.

So as much as this loss smarted, he's aware of the neighborhood he lives in.

"There you go," Fortner said. "Yeah, it's a weird balance. So I think the overall message is just like, you come back from a loss, we just hit the 50 percent mark of the season, so when you think about meaningful games, right, those are going to happen later. Every game's meaningful, but as you get in December or January, right, those are more telling."

And because they live in the neighborhood they live in, they know it's a long season.

"We've got everything in front of us," defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton said. "So, it's just exciting. It really does seem like there's like a sense of hope, like there's not despair around here. Like you feel like you're on the right track.

"Yeah, we're never going to hang our heads. You know, losing three games sucks, but one play away from making that game today, a difference maker. So, we go back in, pay attention to details, and we fix it."