CHARLOTTE— Dave Canales preaches consistency to his players, appreciating a moment but not letting it change their approach or mindset. But even the Panthers' head coach couldn't help but get invested while watching Sunday afternoon's showdown between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints.

"I was watching the game, wanted to make sure that I was connected to the story of it. I've got to be honest, I got a little emotionally involved in the game at times," the coach laughingly admitted on Monday.

The Panthers will face both teams, including the Bucs twice, in the final four weeks of the season. The Saints, who defeated Carolina in Week 10, are their next opponent. And there's the added factor that a Bucs loss meant the Panthers would move into a tie with Tampa for first in the division.

So, yeah, it's easy to get a little emotionally involved.

"Something I try to remind our players is like, 'Hey, watch these games. Let's try not to get too emotionally connected.' But how can you not? It impacts all of us in this division," said Canales. "And certainly it impacts us going into this week with another division opponent."

That impact was certainly felt by end of game, when the Saints had in fact knocked off Tampa Bay 24-20. It made for an interesting conundrum when the Panthers found themselves pulling for the Saints to an extent—"I mean, anything that helps, right?" joked Canales—while also scouting an opponent that has already beaten them once this season.

"I think when we played the Saints last, I didn't like how it went, so I'm watching it just to know that we're going to play that team, and the few past weeks they had some chippy games that they could have pulled off, and they pulled that one off yesterday," shared defensive lineman Tershawn Wharton.

"So not as a fan," he smirked, "(but) as a villain."

Added pass-rusher Nic Scourton, "I don't think it was odd. I think it was just football being football, you know, any given Sunday. We're already lucky to have that week to study for the Saints, obviously because they beat us last go around."

That last go-round was a 17-7 loss at home in Bank of America Stadium. The Panthers were coming off a Week 9 win against the top team in the NFC, the Green Bay Packers. The emotional pendulum swung the other way with the loss to a then one-win Saints team. New Orleans now has three wins, including two in the division, and while they may be officially eliminated from playoff contention, the understanding that the Saints have relished in playing spoiler is not going unnoticed in Charlotte.

"Anytime you lose, you want to get your get back, and that's a get back game for us and something that's in our way of where we need to go," pointed out Wharton.

Echoed Canales, "We're all competing out here, and honestly, knowing that they're playing good football, knowing that it's going to require the best of us, allows us to make sure that the focus is right.

"It heightens that awareness too, so that we understand, like every single week, this league is full of teams, especially the ones that are finding their best ball late in the season. It's a really important opportunity for us."

While the emotional weight of what the game meant settled on the coach and players as they spent their bye week watching from home, it also afforded the opportunity to get a jump start on film study, at least to an extent.

"First of all, it's hardest to watch as a parent, and then, as a coach, when you don't necessarily, have the ability to affect what's happening," laughed Canales. "It's hard not to shut it off, especially when I'm watching (the Saints) defense playing and how they're attacking the Bucs and different schemes that they're using, so you can't turn that part off.

"But, it was a great opportunity to watch a bunch of football, and my favorite part of it is, whether it's college ball, whether it's high school ball, or watching NFL games during a bye week, is there's so much to learn from every game.

"You look at these critical situations—we will find ourselves in those critical situations at different times, and so, just watching the coaches, all the coaches who I respect, and see how they handle different situations, fourth down calls, possible go for it scenarios, clock management at the end of half, end of game. So there's a ton to learn from. That's why I love this time of year."

The Panthers will face all NFC opponents in the final four games, and three NFC South clubs in four of those games. There's a lot at stake as they try to make their first playoff appearance since 2017. Maybe that's why Mike Jackson watched Sunday's game more apathetically, admittedly one of the few on the Panthers who was able to pull off the mental challenge. Who won Sunday in Tampa didn't change much for the Panthers' purpose over the last four weeks.

"I just watch it as a football fan. Like I'll be trying to figure out the concepts from the TV. As far as who wins, I ain't really care because we got to play both of them," Jackson said.

"Just win today. Win today, then win tomorrow, then win the game on Sunday. Don't look down the road because at the end of the day, we don't do what we're supposed to do this week, it really don't matter."