CHARLOTTE — The Panthers are in a place not many people might have expected.

But within that locker room, there's a growing belief that this is where they belong.

By beating the Buccaneers 23-20 Sunday, the Panthers (8-7) have a one-game lead for the NFC South title with two to play, including the finale at Tampa Bay (7-8) in Week 18.

Nothing's clinched yet, but they're on the cusp of their first playoff berth since 2017, and their first home playoff game since 2015 (since the wild card is off the table). And in the moments after their latest dramatic win, they're also believing in themselves.

Panthers head coach Dave Canales is consistently optimistic, but this game was evidence for him of what he's been preaching all year, and for two years really.

"Hope, belief," Canales replied when asked what he saw in the locker room. "Everything's right in front of us still, and to give ourselves a chance to continue to play meaningful football this time of year. They've earned that. They've earned that because of the work. They've earned that because of being accountable to each other, and really having a great week of preparation.

"I think I've mentioned to all of you just the focus that this group had this week, and understanding what's in front of us. And my message to them was, we've been playing playoff football for a really long time. Because of our record early on, every single one of those games for the last month has been so critical for us to be in this spot. And so we got another week, we got another opportunity, and we have to be able to make sure we take the lessons from this one and move forward and try to find our best football."

The fact that Canales pivoted straight from "good win" to "get back to work" is neither accidental nor novel in this locker room.

The Panthers have built themselves with a bunch of grinders, from quarterback Bryce Young and running back Chuba Hubbard, to Derrick Brown and Jaycee Horn on the other side.

So for Brown to be the one to remind the Panthers, "We're not f---in done yet," was in character, because that's the way the Panthers have been built.

This was a locker room that had everything to celebrate, but it wasn't overly celebratory.

"Yeah, it feels great, and it'll feel great for the next 24 hours," Young said. "After that, it's not going to matter. This is what, Week 16? That's not when the playoffs start. So there's still a lot more work to be done. There's still a lot more football to be played.

"Again, 24-hour rule, we'll celebrate this one, but we know that we have to refocus."

Especially during the holidays, that might feel a little like they're being a little dour. But they also realize that they got to this point by taking a very eyes-down approach, so keeping the focus narrow is just the only thing they know.

"It's exciting; I think there's that a little bit of that excitement for where we are, but also I think maybe a hunger for what can be going forward," linebacker Christian Rozeboom said. "Obviously this game was fun and it'll be short-lived because we got to get back to work pretty soon, and really kind of seal the deal and do what we've been doing this whole time and what we've been working towards this whole time. . . .

"That's, that's the life of a football player. The highs are pretty high, and the lows are pretty low, and you've got another opponent the next week. We're a resilient group, and this team is built for this, and we've always thought we had the right guys in this locker room, in this building. And I think that's kind of showing, making it self-evident, kind of down the stretch here with some adversity things. But we just get back to it and get back to work and do what we can do going forward."

With the win, the Panthers are 8-7, exceeding their win total from every season since 2017, and the last two seasons combined.

Which means for a lot of these guys, this is new territory.

"Better than it has the past few years," linebacker Claudin Cherelus replied when asked how it felt in there. "It's a good feeling, but the thing I like the most about this locker room is we're never content, we're never comfortable.

"We know, you know, how it feels to be at the bottom. We know how it feels to be at the top now, so at the end of the day we've just got to come out and keep playing like we have."

As he spoke to reporters, Brown was asked about being credited with a sack, and he immediately redirected.

"At the end of the day, man, it's not about the stats for me," he said. "It's about getting this win and doing things we've never done around here for a while."

Brown's one of just eight players left from the 2022 season, when they made a vain run at the NFC South title with an interim coach and a lot of interim players.

But this one, this one feels more sustainable, and this one feels more real.

And that was evidenced by the fact that in a moment that should have been a party, most of the Panthers were talking about getting back to work, because the job isn't done.

The Panthers still need to win at least one more game (depending on Tampa's result next week against Miami), and that could come down to Week 18 in Tampa.

So that's why they're all thinking about the next day, because that's all they've got.

When Canales was asked about their destiny being in their hands, he mostly shrugged.

"I mean we feel like it's been like that for weeks and weeks," he replied. "And I like the group feeling comfortable with this type of pressure, feeling comfortable with knowing it's still just going to be about the work.

"Can we get back to work? Can we trust our process and it'll lead to good results?"