NEW ORLEANS — Dave Canales couldn't help but laugh in his postgame after a last-second 20-17 win over the Saints, when the words "championship opportunity" tumbled out of his mouth.

Partially, that's because he heard them a lot this weekend.

During their final team meeting Saturday night at the team hotel, someone made a supercut of all the times Canales said his catchphrase, and he said it a lot. Generous estimates put it at 10 to 12 times in rapid succession, which had everyone rolling the night before the game.

So when it manifested itself Sunday in a 20-17 win over the Saints that put the Panthers alone in first place in the NFC South, they could all enjoy it.

"It was a championship opportunity," Canales said during his postgame press conference. "And we talked about that a little bit, lighthearted, and the guys kind of gave a little chuckle.

"But it's true. We have to be able to take advantage of these opportunities in these moments, especially in the division. That's our number one goal is to win the division, and so a great step in that direction."

For all the jokes, and more on those in a moment, the Panthers definitely took advantage of the  opportunity.

By beating the Saints, they checked a lot of boxes. They stopped a three-game losing streak, and they won for the first time in the Caesars Superdome since 2022.

But they also improved to 4-5 and 2-1 in the division, putting them a game clear of the rest of the group they have to beat first. The Saints are now 3-6, same as the Buccaneers who had the weekend off. The Falcons dropped to 3-7 with a loss to the Chiefs Sunday.

Given how tight this division always is (and over the last five seasons, the average gap between first and third place is just 1.6 games), any amount of breathing room is as helpful as it is rare.

"It means that no matter what happens, as long as we come together at the end of it, we can win any game," veteran tight end Tommy Tremble said. "And I think no matter how a win looks in the NFL, a win's a win, and that's something that's important, especially division rival. First place. I like it. I like it. It's not too bad. Last night was a blast, 'Championship opportunity, championship opportunity.'

"And you know what, it showed up, the championship opportunities, we made it happen."

Tremble has a lot of roles here, and one of them is "hype man" for his partner Chuba Hubbard. But even as they age, they also know that these kinds of opportunities are rare.

So for the straight-laced Hubbard, who never found a compliment he didn't try to divert to someone else, that Saturday night video montage was a reminder of both the generation gap and the fact that not everyone has to be as buttoned-up as he is.

"Yeah, I think one thing about this team I've learned over the years is, especially with a lot of these younger guys because we're a young team, they like to keep things light, keep things fun," he said with a weary smile, after touching the ball 32 times for 172 yards and two touchdowns. "And, obviously, I'm a little different in the way of, I'm a little different. But over the years I just learned that's what this team is, and so you embrace it, you enjoy it.

"When we're having fun, we're playing our best football. So it's good to see that we can joke around and do those things and then obviously come away with a win."

It certainly helped that they got it done in all three phases, from a defense that made crucial stops to Ryan Fitzgerald's last-second game-winner.

But that video resonates, because as much as Canales says it a lot, he does it because it's factual.

"It was making fun, but not really making fun because it's true," veteran guard Robert Hunt said. " Obviously, it is because it really was.

"That's what he preaches every week, and we just, our team, it's kind of a thing in our team now."

And when it comes with being in first place, it makes it so much easier to laugh.