The Panthers will need help from the Falcons to make it into the postseason after losing to the Bucs.
The Carolina Panthers fell in their Week 18 game to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 16-14. A win would've clinched the NFC South and Carolina's first playoff appearance since the 2017 season.
The Panthers will need the Atlanta Falcons to beat the New Orleans Saints on Sunday to get into the postseason.
“I don’t really want to get into that because we just didn’t play well enough offensively speaking,” head coach Dave Canales said after the game. “We didn’t get our run game going, a bad day on third down, which doesn’t give us an opportunity to extend the drives and really have a balanced offense the way that we can play. Some missed opportunities out there, so it really just has to be on us and about the execution and all of us making sure we’re in the right place at the right time.”
Canales did not blame the refs despite some controversial calls throughout the game. However, there were other opportunities for the Panthers to win the game.
Their run game struggled, as Rico Dowdle rushed for 10 yards on seven carries and Chuba Hubbard had 10 yards on five carries.
That led Carolina to rely heavily on Bryce Young and the passing attack. Young completed 24 of 35 passes for 266 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.
Rookie wide receiver Tet McMillan led the team in receiving with four receptions for 85 yards. Jalen Coker added six receptions for 47 yards and a touchdown, while tight end Tommy Tremble had three receptions for 38 yards and a touchdown.
A missed 54-yard field goal by Ryan Fitzgerald also loomed large as the Panthers lost by two points.
It was a disappointing result to what was an up-and-down season. They had some upset wins over the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams, but lost to the Arizona Cardinals and twice to the Saints.
Carolina finishes the regular season at 8-9 and will root for their division rival, the Falcons, to beat the Saints to get them into the postseason for the first time since Cam Newton was their starting quarterback.