CHARLOTTE — The Panthers and Bucs are playing for the division next Saturday afternoon.
The league announced Sunday night that next week's pivotal Panthers-Bucs game will be played at 4: 30 p.m. on Saturday.
The game will be broadcast by ABC and ESPN.
As disappointed as the Panthers were by Sunday's 27-10 loss to the Seahawks that would have clinched the division, they also know that winning at Tampa will send them to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
They haven't won the division and hosted a playoff game since after the 2015 season.
"We definitely feel the missed opportunity, but at the same time, we know it's in front of us; It's clearly defined," Panthers head coach Dave Canales said. "It was going to come down to this game, us handling our business, and facing the Bucs one more time on the last game of the season.
"Couldn't ask for a better situation for this. The guys are excited and fired up about that, and we've got to get over the fact that we missed an opportunity with the Bucs losing that game. But our focus has to go to the next one really quickly."
The Panthers (8-8) have alternated wins and losses since Week 7, which has them at .500 on the season.
The Buccaneers (7-9) have lost seven of their last eight games, including the Week 16 trip to Charlotte, after a 6-2 start to the season.
You can read a full explainer of the scenarios here (including the chaos scenario). The winner of the NFC South will play the runner-up from the NFC West, since the Packers are already locked into the seventh seed, and the other two wild cards will be the two from the group including Seattle, San Francisco, and the Los Angeles Rams, one of which will likely be the top seed.
Check out some of the best shots from the Panthers' Week 17 game against the Seahawks.
