CHARLOTTE — It's never easy in the NFC South.
With both the Panthers and Buccaneers losing on Sunday, the door is open for chaos to reign, for the NFC South's division title and lone playoff berth.
The Panthers lost 27-10 to the Seahawks to fall to 8-8. The Buccaneers are now 7-9 after falling 20-17 to the Dolphins.
If the Panthers win at Tampa Bay next week, they'd win their first division title since 2015 by having the better overall record.
If the Bucs win and they have identical 8-9 overall records, Tampa Bay would advance by having the third tiebreaker edge in common games.
(With one potential complicating factor, more on that later.)
The Panthers are 3-5 in the games against the NFC West and AFC East, while the Bucs are 4-4 in those games.
The Panthers had wins over the Rams, Dolphins, and Jets, along with losses to the Seahawks, Bills, Patriots, 49ers, and Cardinals. The Buccaneers beat the Seahawks, 49ers, Cardinals, and Jets, while losing to the Patriots, Bills, Dolphins, and Rams.
If it gets to that point, the Panthers' Week 2 loss to the Cardinals on the road will loom large, since the Panthers have a 6-4 to 5-6 edge in conference record, which is the fourth tiebreaker.
NFC South standings, entering Week 17
| Team (overall) | Division record | Common games | Conference record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina (8-8) | 3-2 | 3-5 | 6-5 |
| Tampa Bay (7-9) | 2-3 | 4-4 | 5-6 |
Of course, the Falcons could still complicate things in that scenario.
And again, it's the NFC South, and we can't discount it.
If the 6-9 Falcons win their final two games of the season (against the Rams on Monday Night Football and in Week 18 against the Saints, both at home), they could force a three-way tie atop the division, with everyone staring at 8-9 records.
If that happens, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head among the three teams. In that instance, the Panthers would win based on sweeping the Falcons to give them a 3-1 mark in those games, while the Falcons and Bucs split their games, leaving the Bucs at 2-2 in that scenario.
That's the most NFC South result possible, but no one in Carolina would be apologizing for that.
The time and date of the Week 18 game is expected to be announced Sunday night, and given the win-and-in implications, it's likely to be played in a standalone window.
There are two solo games on Saturday, along with the Sunday night game.
The Panthers are 3-2 all-time in prime-time games against the Buccaneers. They beat the Bucs on Monday Night Football here in 2006 and 2008, and on Thursday Night Football in Tampa in 2013. They lost to the Bucs on a Monday in 2016 and a Thursday in 2019.
Check out some of the best shots from the Panthers' Week 17 game against the Seahawks.
