CHARLOTTE — "It's almost like boxing," Panthers cornerback Mike Jackson began. "You get hit in the mouth. To throw a punch, you got to be able to take a punch."

On Sunday, the Panthers' defense got punched in the mouth early, particularly Jackson, as Tampa Bay milked nearly 14 minutes off the clock on two early drives and put 10 points on the scoreboard.

Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield had his full contingent of weapons back, which meant a lot of explosiveness, and the first touchdown was a perfectly placed ball from Mayfield to star wide receiver nMike Evans, who won the 50-50 rep against Jackson.

"So it's just like, I took that punch," said Jackson, "and keep going."

By day's end, Jackson had been targeted eight times. He gave up four receptions: the 1-yard touchdown to Evans was one of them. The other three amounted to a total of 11 yards and no other scores. He also had three passes defended, which led both teams for the game, and he is now tied for first in the entire league with 17 passes defended this season.

"Back home, we got a saying, 'My heart don't pump Kool-Aid,'" continued Jackson in his infinite wisdom. "So he had the first touchdown, and at that moment it's like, all right, you find out a lot about yourself, so just don't flinch."

It was an attitude the entire defense took on. A week after playing three quarters of good football, only to give up two scoring drives in the worst possible moment, the group knew they had to come back and make a stand.

There was the early touchdown drive by the Bucs, then the field goal drive, which constituted a stop in some ways, thanks to Jaycee Horn's tackle, considering Tampa Bay was on the 3-yard line and held to a field goal in a three-point game. The next two drives, the group forced a punt.

Tampa put together a long drive to start the second half that concluded with a touchdown, but only added a field goal on their next three drives as Mayfield was held to 145 passing yards, one touchdown, and one interception. It was his second-lowest output of the season. The lowest was a game in which he played only a quarter and a half before an injury ended his night.

"Our mindset the whole week is, we all know what this game meant," shared defensive lineman A'Shawn Robinson. "We know this is a win-or-go-home, so we kept that mentality the whole week."

Mayfield was able to get out and scramble a few times, finishing with four rushes for 49 yards. Rachaad White had a long run of 39 yards, but was held to six yards on his other four rushes. Bucky Irving, who has terrorized this team in the past, was held to 71 yards on 19 rushes, an average of 3.7 yards per rush.

"Fighting and straining," preached Robinson into what went into performance. "The will to not stop, the will to not be denied, that was what we were fighting for.

"So we were just making sure play in, play out, that we fight and strain. And do everything we possibly can to finish on top."

And in the moments when it mattered most, they did.

After the Bucs added a field goal early in the fourth quarter to tie it at 20, the Panthers' ensuing possession ended in a punt. There was 7:55 left in the game, and the Bucs already had an eight-plus-minute drive earlier in the game. The defense had to make a stop to give the offense another chance. Early in the drive, Mayfield put up his lone explosive pass of the day, but it was a big one, a 40-yarder right between the hashes to a streaking Emeka Egbuka.

The following plays on that drive went: a tackle-for-loss, a pass breakup, a sack on a down replayed due to a delay of game, and a quarterback hurry that forced a low throw. All leading to a punt that gave the Panthers the ball back, with an additional 10 yards due to a holding call on Tampa Bay during the punt.

They took a punch, then threw one of their own.

It was possible, according to safety Nick Scott because they never stopped communicating. That was something Dave Canales pointed out as an issue after the Saints' loss, so the group made sure they were in sync at every moment this week.

"We were just talking and being on the same page, you know, I was just reminding the guys not to get bored with talking and talking and tackling," said Scott, who finished with a team-high 10 tackles.

"We kind of saw what game it was going to be. They wanted to keep the ball on the ground and try to control the game and everything like that. And so we just wanted to make the plays we were supposed to make and then turn it into a game where they had to throw the ball where we felt like we had an advantage.

"These are playoff games now, point-blank period. This is playoff games, and so we're going to ask for that intensity not only from the fans but just the guys, you know, week in and week out."

The Panthers took the ball back and added the go-ahead field goal, and the Bucs took back over with 2:20 remaining and 90 yards to go for a touchdown. Mayfield added another big scramble, and the defense knew they had a chance to stand up or lie down. That was the message in the huddle.

"Finish, capitalize on opportunity. They're going to give us opportunities and give us chances to make sure we do that," said Robinson.

A couple of quick throws moved Tampa Bay to the other side of the field before the rookie Lathan Ransom threw the knock-out punch, picking off Mayfield to effectively end the game and put the Panthers at the top of the NFC South.

"We want to be a defense that can finish," said Scott. "Our offense has bailed us out a lot and had a lot of game-winning drives, and so we were all excited for the opportunity to end the game on the defensive terms."

Another rookie, Nic Scourton, is also emerging at the right time, finishing with four tackles on Sunday, including one for loss. He was initially credited with a sack, but it was later given to Derrick Brown. Both were in on the play.

"Nic's a really good player," bragged Brown of his teammate. "He's going to be a really, really good player. Still figuring it out every now and again, but, you know, it's the things that as a rookie, you all have to go through that.

"But it's special to see him out there making the plays he's making the plays he's making and just popping up all over the place."

During training camp, Brown warned fans, opponents, and the national narrative that this was going to be a team other teams wouldn't want to play. After knocking off two No. 1 seeds in the NFC (Packers and Rams), sweeping a division opponent (the Falcons), and then notching the first win in the series against the team they were deadlocked at the top of the division with, Brown's warning is starting to ring true.

So how did he know?

"I think it's just the grit, man, the grit," he said. "I mean, no matter what happens, we just keep going. And I think, just from day one, that's been the message, like just keep going. Everything's not going to always happen your way, but you know, stay in the fight and keep going."

Because if you can take a punch, you can stay in the fight and throw your own.

This is far from over for the Panthers. They have to win, at the very least, one more game, most likely the Week 18 finale against the Bucs. Technically, a win next week against the top-seeded Seahawks could also do the job, but only if the Dolphins beat Tampa Bay as well.

Regardless, another win must be notched. So just like they moved past the Saints' disappointment last week, it's time to move past this one as well.

"It's very special," admitted Brown, "but if we want to get to where we're going, it's got to be, it's the same attitude, man. We've got to show up and go back to work tomorrow."