CHARLOTTE — Football players are notorious for remaining singularly focused, taking games week by week, going "1-and-0" so as not to get distracted or look ahead.

The Carolina Panthers are going to stretch that mental fortitude from now through the end of the season, as their mettle is tested by one of the toughest remaining schedules in the league.

"It's playoff every week," said defensive lineman A'Shawn Robinson, with his patented intensity that leaves no room for argument. "It's playoff time, so that's how we take it."

The Panthers are firmly in the division race, half a game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with both teams sitting at six wins and big NFC West prime time matchups for both clubs this weekend (the Bucs face the Rams on Sunday night). ESPN has given Carolina a 22.1 percent chance to make the playoffs as of now.

But it will be a gauntlet.

Which players, in their typical approach, are determined to not let become intimidating.

"Take it one game at a time," stated running back Rico Dowdle. "We've got to win this one first, and then we'll focus on the next one that comes. I mean, we show we can go compete with the best. So it's all about going 1-and-0 each week, and that's what we got to focus on."

At the start of the season, the NFL ranked each team's strength of schedule based on its opponents' 2024 win percentages. The Panthers had the fifth-easiest schedule. Then the season started, games were played, and this season got put into a blender, where it seemed no one knew what would happen any given week in the first half of the year.

Now, there is a better sense of which teams will make a push. And many of those teams are in the NFC West, which happens to be the NFC South's cross-division opponents this season. The Panthers faced the Cardinals back in Week 2. The remaining three teams make up opponents for Week 12 (Niners), Week 13 (Rams), and Week 17 (Seahawks).

ESPN's FPI (Football Power Index) ranking says the Panthers have the 10th-toughest schedule remaining, based on a multitude of factors, including win percentages, point differential, etc. Based on pure strength of schedule, Carolina has the third-toughest remaining schedule in the league.

The final five opponents are: Niners, Rams, Saints, Bucs (who they'll play twice), and the Seahawks, with a bye week in there that suddenly seems very well placed. The combined win percentage of those teams is .590. Four of the next five all have six or more wins, and every NFC West opponent coming up has seven or eight wins.

The one team with a losing record remaining on the schedule, the Saints, already handed the Panthers a loss at home this season. In other words, the next six weeks are going to be tough.

"We're sitting here looking at a bunch of NFC opponents, four out of the five that are in front of us, in the playoff picture, and so there's a real focus and opportunity for the group to say let's go one game at a time," preached coach Dave Canales this week.

"We're playing the Niners this week. We'll worry about the next one when we get to the next one, but big-picture-wise, understanding our work is right in front of us. Can we execute? Can we maintain our focus and not be distracted by the rest of it? Because what is it gonna come down to? Fundamental execution.

"It's going to come down to blocking, tackling, throwing, and catching, and making our plays when they come to us, and that's never going to change."

It's the same message his players echoed in the locker room all week. For guys like Jaycee Horn, who have been here for years laying a foundation, the chance to take on the next six weeks is no different than how he thought about the previous 11 games.

"I don't think about it. I just take it week to week," promised Horn. "The opponent is the opponent, and we've got to prepare the same way we do, regardless of who we're playing, the toughest schedule stuff, and I guess that just be stuff for fans and everybody else to talk about. Whoever the opponent is, I'm showing up ready to play."

Added Chau Smith-Wade, "You've got to be mentally prepared and physically prepared to go out there and be 1-and-0 every play, week to week. Our motto is 1-and-0, we're not worried about two weeks ahead, three weeks ahead; 1-and-0 in practice, 1-and-0 in play, 1-and-0, just win as many as you can."

There is an aside that must be added here; even if this tough road over the next month and a half causes the Panthers to trip a couple of times and miss the playoffs, it will also be a great litmus test for where this young, rebuilding team is and what needs to be addressed to get where they want to go.

Still, there is something to be said for a playoff push coming during the toughest block of games. ESPN, as mentioned, gives the Panthers a 22.1 percent chance to make the playoffs and a 15 percent chance to win the division. The Bucs, currently in the lead, have the fourth-easiest remaining slate of games based on strength of schedule and the second-easiest based on FPI.

None of that matters and just becomes a fun graphic on the ticker if the Panthers beat Tampa and win enough of the remaining games to play themselves into the playoffs with no questions asked. It's that challenge that excites the competitors in the locker room.

"If there's any time you want the toughest schedule, it's now, just kind of preparing us for the playoffs and stuff like that. You want to play the toughest team, so you want to play against the best," said receiver Tetairoa McMillan.

"So, just being able to do that, we've got to show up on our P's and Q's every week from here on out. So, you know, that's only going to prepare us for what's to come."

And there's something to be said for those teams also facing this hungry Carolina team, who have already defeated the team that was top in the conference (Packers) at the time.

"We prepare by getting better each day," said safety Nick Scott, before offering a slight smirk, cutting his eyes at teammates who were excitedly waiting to see what he'd say next about the remaining schedule.

"And they got to prepare for us."