For the Carolina Panthers, the fact that a do-or-die game for the NFC South title and a playoff spot is on the table is something this franchise hasn’t experienced in a long time. Carolina hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2017. In the years since, the Panthers have cycled through head coaches, offensive systems, quarterbacks, and philosophical resets that often felt never-ending.

For many, this season wasn’t supposed to look like this.

It was supposed to be about growth, patience, and laying groundwork. Instead, here the Panthers are in late December, playing meaningful football with everything on the line — exactly the kind of football this fan base has been starved for.

The Panther fan base may have grown frustrated with the ownership and franchise in the last seven years, but once their team is playing football such as this, they're as fired up and enthusiastic as a fan base gets.

That’s what makes this moment so significant. Not just the possibility of winning the division. Not just the chance to get back into the postseason. But the fact that Carolina has clawed its way back into relevance after years of instability and disappointment.

Head coach Dave Canales said something before the season that didn’t make headlines at the time. He said Carolina would become a team nobody wanted to play late in the year. Not flashy. Not perfect. Just tough, physical, disciplined, and dangerous.

That prediction has come true.

The Panthers don’t overwhelm teams with star power or explosive highlights. They grind. They stay close. They hang around. And when games tighten in the fourth quarter, they don’t fold — they fight. That identity didn’t exist here for a long time.

This isn’t about pretending the rebuild is finished or that every problem is solved. It’s about recognizing progress when it shows up. Meaningful December football matters. Competing for a division matters. Believing you belong again matters.

For a franchise that’s spent years searching for direction, simply being in this position is a reminder of what’s possible when structure, belief, and buy-in finally align.

The Panthers were forgotten by most of the league entering the season. Now, they’re exactly what Canales promised — a team no one wants to see with everything on the line.

Win or lose, Carolina is back playing games that matter. And for the first time in a long time, that alone feels special.