Panthers Playoff Picture Carolina Clinches Nfc South Title In Week 18

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Jan 19, 2026, 6:35 AM

Panthers playoff picture: Carolina clinches NFC South title in Week 18 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. The Carolina Panthers haven’t been to the NFC playoffs the last seven seasons. They haven’t won the NFC South title since 2015, the season in which they advanced to Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium. But the Panthers (8-9) ended both droughts ahead of Super Bowl 60, which also will be played in the 49ers’ home venue in Santa Clara, Calif. While Carolina lost to Tampa Bay in Week 18 with a chance to control its destiny, the Panthers got help when the Atlanta Falcons beat the New Orleans Saints to give Carolina a division...

Here’s a breakdown of how the Panthers ended the regular season with an NFC South title: LIVE:Updated NFL playoff picture for Week 18 The battle for the NFC South title has officially come to an end. The Panthers secured the final NFC playoff spot on Sunday thanks to the Falcons beating the Saints. This Carolina's first division title in10 years. The Panthers lost to the Buccaneers on Saturday night 16–14, which put all the pressure on Sunday’s Saints–Falcons game.

If New Orleans would’ve won, then Tampa Bay would’ve earned the playoff spot. This complicated path to the playoffs definitely had the teams and the fans on the edge of their seats. Baker Mayfield, for instance, was a nervous wreck watching the game at home knowing his team’s playoff hopes were in the hands of a rival. 🥁🥁🥁@AtriumHealth | #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/mm6SF46EHP It was a close NFC South matchup on Sunday as Atlanta won 19–17 to help Carolina make the postseason. With an 8–9 record for the 2025 season, Carolina is the only playoff team with a losing record.

The Panthers hold onto the No. 4 NFC seed, setting them up to host the 49ers as of now. If the Rams beat the Cardinals in the late Sunday slate, then the Panthers will host Los Angeles instead next weekend in the wild-card round. Backing into the playoffs is still getting into the playoffs. The Carolina Panthers have officially clinched the NFC South thanks to the Atlanta Falcons' 19-17 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. It is surely not the way the Panthers would have written it up.

Carolina had an opportunity to clinch the division on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but instead fell, 16-14, to require a reprieve from another division rival. Nonetheless, reaching the postseason is certainly something to celebrate for the upstart Panthers. In head coach Dave Canales' second season at the helm, this will be the team's first playoff berth since 2017 and first division title since 2015 when Carolina advanced to Super Bowl 50. Though sitting at an underwhelming 8-9, the Panthers do have two wins over teams in NFC playoff field -- the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams. They'll also benefit from hosting a wild-card game as a division winner. For the first time in a decade, the Carolina Panthers are your NFC South champions!

Carolina clinched the division crown on Sunday afternoon, thanks to the Atlanta Falcons' 19-17 win over the New Orleans Saints. This marks the team's first NFC South title since 2015 and snaps a franchise-long playoff drought of seven seasons. The Panthers, who are locked into the conference's No. 4 seed, will now host their first playoff game since that 2015 campaign—which saw them defeat the Arizona Cardinals to advance to Super Bowl 50. Their last playoff appearance came in 2017, when they were eliminated by the New Orleans Saints in that year's wild-card round. Their opponent for next weekend's postseason tilt will be determined by today's contest between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cardinals.

A Rams win would match them up with the Panthers. A Cardinals win or a tie would send the San Francisco 49ers to Carolina. Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content. Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, right, hands off to running back Rico Dowdle (5) during the first half of an NFL football game Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) runs with the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) passes against the Los Angeles Chargers during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Denver.

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski) Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) runs the ball past Tennessee Titans outside linebackers Truman Jones (56) and Jaylen Harrell, far right, during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) runs against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026.

(AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez) The race for the NFC South title is officially going to come down to one game: Saints at Falcons. That's right, the division title will be decided by two teams that can't even win the division. That became a reality on Saturday after the Buccaneers secured a 16-14 win over the Panthers in an NFC South showdown that didn't end up deciding anything. If Carolina won the game, the Panthers would have clinched the division title, but because the Bucs won, the Saints-Falcons game on Sunday will now decide who wins the division.

How is that even possible? That's a great question. Let's answer it. The Falcons pulled off a shocker Monday night when they beat the Rams, 27-24. The win improved Atlanta's record to 7-9 -- and that's where things get interesting. Let's take a quick look at the NFC South standings so we can break down why Atlanta's win made such a huge difference in the division title race.

Sunday game result: With Atlanta’s 19-17 win over the Saints, the Panthers are NFC South champions. They will host a playoff game on Wild Card weekend as the No. 4 seed. Saturday game result: The Panthers lost to the Buccaneers on Saturday to open Week 18, and now they have to wait for the Falcons-Saints game to decide the division winner. The Panthers fell behind 10-0 but managed to come back and keep things interesting. They scored a touchdown with 2:27 left, but by the time they got the ball back, they were too deep on their side of the field and did not have enough time.

The Bucs are currently in first place in the division, but both of Saturday’s teams will be watching Falcons-Saints on Sunday. If the Saints win, the Bucs clinched the division based on the common games tiebreaker. If the Falcons win, we would have a three-way tie for first place and the Panthers would win the tiebreaker based on overall head-to-head record against the other two teams. The Carolina Panthers are 60 minutes of football away from their first playoff berth since 2017. Or maybe it’s 120 minutes. We’ll explain more below, but the Panthers head into Week 18 with their highest win total since 2017 and showing signs of growth moving forward.

They face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to close out the regular season in a game that could decide the NFC South champion. I say “could” because there is an usual clinching scenario for the Panthers. The Panthers-Bucs matchup kicks off in Tampa at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Panthers are field goal underdogs. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Carolina Panthers on Saturday in a must-win game, but the Buccaneers needed more help on Sunday to win the division.

With the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints finishing their seasons in a matchup, Tampa Bay needed the Saints to prevail. However, it was the Falcons who won the game, which means that the Panthers finish the season as NFC South champions at 8-9. The Carolina Panthers suffered a crushing defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 18, as Dave Canales' squad just didn't do enough on either side of the ball to pick up the road... Carolina's offense was basically non-existent on Saturday, while the defense couldn't stop Tampa Bay's rushing attack. The Panthers will finish the regular season at 8-9, their eighth straight losing season. Though Carolina has a losing record and fell to Tampa Bay in Week 18, they are still alive in the NFC South.

3. Atlanta Falcons (7-9, will play Saints in Week 18) 4. New Orleans Saints (6-10, will play Falcons in Week 18) CHARLOTTE — It's never easy in the NFC South. With both the Panthers and Buccaneers losing on Sunday, the door is open for chaos to reign, for the NFC South's division title and lone playoff berth.

The Panthers lost 27-10 to the Seahawks to fall to 8-8. The Buccaneers are now 7-9 after falling 20-17 to the Dolphins. If the Panthers win at Tampa Bay next week, they'd win their first division title since 2015 by having the better overall record. If the Bucs win and they have identical 8-9 overall records, Tampa Bay would advance by having the third tiebreaker edge in common games.

Panthers Playoff Picture Carolina Clinches Nfc South Title In Week 18

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