The Carolina Panthers lost their final game, but still will win the NFC South and see the playoffs.
The Carolina Panthers lost their final game 16-14 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday night to end the season 8-9 alongside the Bucs. However, thanks to the 8-9 Atlanta Falcons, they’ll win their first NFC South title since 2015 and head to the NFL playoffs thanks to a three-way tiebreaker the Falcons triggered. Atlanta and the New Orleans Saints put on a competitive yet chaotic contest in which the Falcons came out narrowly on top to win 19-17 and spoil Tampa Bay’s hopes.
The Saints were already down a ton of starting personnel, and then left tackle Kelvin Banks went out mid-game as well. Despite that, rookie quarterback Tyler Shough kept New Orleans alive and fighting, even with him throwing a late interception that allowed Atlanta to take a 10-point lead. He quickly led the team down the field to answer with a touchdown to Ronnie Bell with 1:11 left in the contest. It ultimately wasn’t enough, but the Saints have found their franchise quarterback. That’s more valuable than a Week 18 win.
Here is the full story from Saints Roundtable writer Nick Crain on the close game that New Orleans dropped to send Carolina to the postseason.
For the first time in five seasons, the NFC South will have a new title winner in the Panthers. It doesn’t feel great to clinch that because of another team, but they’re going to the postseason while the rest of the teams sit at home.