TAMPA, Fla. — Having two straight weeks of chances to take care of it themselves made it hard for the Panthers to think about hope.

But even though they can still win the NFC South title if the Falcons beat the Saints tomorrow, thanks to some three-way tiebreakers, the moments after a 16-14 loss to the Buccaneers made that hard to think about.

"Yeah, I don't know, I don't know," Panthers quarterback Bryce Young repeated when asked how he might feel watching the Falcons and Saints tomorrow. "We'll see if I, . . . I mean, I haven't thought about it. Yeah, it'd be a tough one. Might not even watch, to be honest with you. I might just see how it ends up.

"So, yeah, it's on us for that being our reality. We had an opportunity to take it. Now we have to leave it in someone else's hands, so we take ownership in that something like this at all, where you had to rely on someone else."

Seeing Young process that in real time brought home the impact of the moment. Instead of celebrating in division champion shirts and hats, they're going back home to think about how this could have gone differently.

For all the things the Panthers did well this season — improving from two wins in 2023 and five last year to eight — the last two weeks have left a sour taste in their mouths.

After he talked to reporters, Young huddled in the locker room for several minutes with running back Chuba Hubbard, one of the consciences of the team. He was chosen as the team's fourth captain on Sunday, along with Young, Derrick Brown, and JJ Jansen, and was the only player on the roster chosen twice this season. Head coach Dave Canales referred to Hubbard last week as one of their leaders, but in those moments, Hubbard also struggled to put it into context.

"I've just got a lot of emotions right now, just to be honest," Hubbard said. "Obviously didn't fall the way we wanted to. I wish I could do more for my team, and I've been here so long, just to get that close, it hurts.

"But proud of the guys, proud of everyone that fought to the end. Thankful for this team, the coaches, everyone that's been a part of it."

Canales also talked about gratitude, and at a certain point, that will be easier to process.

Knowing it was that close, and now they have to watch television — they'll do that from home, rather than together — was hard to swallow.

"I'm proud of the way we battled, the way we played all the way to the end," Canales said. "Just believing if we got time and downs, we got a chance in this thing, and the way the guys came together and fought together, I was really proud of that part.

"And now, you know, it's in the hands of another game, and that's not what we were hoping for, but there's still hope. They're still alive, and the locker room is certainly sick about a missed opportunity."

The Panthers will win the division in a three-way tie because they swept the Falcons this year, and Atlanta split with Tampa Bay. But now, they're all Falcons fans.

"We're all gonna be on the edge of our seats tomorrow watching that game," Canales said. "Hoping for the Falcons to pull through, but at the same time, at least we have that hope to look at, but we have to look at ourselves, and we have to make sure that in these championship moments that we play our best."

There were plenty of emotions in that locker room, hushed tones, as players tried to process how close they were to a celebration.

"I don't know, I'm just, I'm stuck on the loss right now," cornerback Jaycee Horn said. "My emotions are all over the place for real. . . .

"Let's sleep on this one. I'll cheer for Atlanta tomorrow. But yeah, right now it's just, it's stinging a little bit."

Veteran tackle Taylor Moton, one of only two Panthers players to appear in a playoff game for this team (along with Jansen) and one of the resident stoics, said this situation was counterintuitive for him.

"It's difficult because all you can really do is just control what you can control, right?" Moton said. "And that's kind of been my mindset since I've been in the league.

"So just sit back and see what happens, it'll be tough if the Falcons lose, but, you know, all we can do now is just sit back and wait and see."

Brown, who was drafted in 2020 and hasn't been this close to a playoff berth yet, admitted this was wearing on him.

"I mean, s---, they all add up. They all suck," he said. "I ain't never wanted to be a loser in my life, and you know this losing today damn sure hurt.

"I mean, expectations from the time we started back in April, it was to go out here and be able to compete for NFC South. You know it's crazy to see how far we've come, but I mean, at the end of the day, if you still don't get it done, you don't get it done."

Asked if he'd be watching tomorrow, he replied: "Hell yeah, I've got to. I got no choice."

"I live my life where I don't need anybody to do anything for me," Brown said. "So I mean it's tough to have to sit around and, you know, wait to see the result tomorrow."