The Carolina Panthers lost 20-17 to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, missing a chance to move ahead of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the playoff race. Both teams now have identical 7-7 records and are tied at 2-2 within their division, leaving postseason hopes intact for both.
Head coach Dave Canales acknowledged the disappointment but emphasized that opportunities remain. “There’s a lot of guys who are really disappointed, because of the missed opportunity that we had,” Canales said. “At the same time, there’s a lot of great leaders in that locker room that understand we’ve got a lot of football in front of us.
“We have to make sure that we move on quickly. We look at the film, we make sure we tidy up the things that we need to, and get ready for the next game, and that’s really got to be the mentality, so we stay together and finish this thing.”
Derrick Brown, one of eight players left from the 2022 roster with postseason experience, echoed his coach’s message about moving forward. “It’s great to still have everything in front of us, right? Like you’ve got to put this s behind us and get back to work,” Brown said. “You can’t sit here and sulk on this because you’ve got to go back to work and get ready for tomorrow and get ready to play Tampa Bay next weekend.
“Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us. I mean, we’ve got to go out here and we got to get it now. I mean, it is what it is. It’s been that way since Day 1, right? We started off 1-3, and you know it’s the same mentality, right? Nothing has come easy for us this season. So I mean now we’ve got to go back and go to work.”
A win would have given Carolina sole possession of first place in their division and an opportunity next week at home — something they haven’t done since 1996 — but instead they face a tight three-game stretch with crucial matchups each week.
Veteran offensive lineman Austin Corbett pointed out how these experiences are part of building a winning team culture after years without more than seven wins since 2017. “It’s just the growing nature of when you’re trying to build a winning culture, and it’s not going to happen overnight,” Corbett said. “And we are in a position now where we have to go make it happen. So we want to go win the division. We’ve got Tampa coming in. We’ve got to go do it. There’s no other option. You want to win the playoffs, go to the home playoff game? It starts right now.
“You’ve got to own this. You have to be here present where your feet are and own the moment. It didn’t get done today and ultimately it doesn’t really hurt too much. It’s not as easy of a way to go get the win now, but it’s still there. We can still win the division. It’s still right in front of us and we have to go on it and go get it done.”
Corbett also discussed embracing difficult moments as part of growth: “There’s a growing side of it; it’s painful growing things,” he said. “They sting, they hurt, but again, we have the opportunity right in front of us still. So you own this today, you accept it, you have to grow from it, and there’s no time to go up and down anymore.
“It’s time just to go up and excel and go win the division, and you just got lock in one day at a time … eliminate any outside distractions … It’s time to go.”
The Panthers saw some improvement compared with their earlier loss against New Orleans at Bank of America Stadium following their Week 9 victory over Green Bay; they rushed for 127 yards on 31 carries while quarterback Bryce Young completed several long passes including touchdowns over thirty yards.
However, despite improved execution on offense compared with previous games against New Orleans earlier this season — including successful running plays (31 attempts for 127 yards) as well as notable deep completions by Bryce Young — consistency was lacking late in Sunday’s contest.
“They played well … But for us we’re a team that prides ourselves on finish,” Young said after Sunday’s defeat.” Didn’t get that done today … we’ll watch film … live with it for these 24 hours … After that just turn page … That’s all matters.”
Despite disappointment after falling short against New Orleans once again this season — having last clinched their division title at home nearly three decades ago — Carolina remains focused on its remaining games knowing postseason possibilities persist if they can regroup heading into their matchup against Tampa Bay next weekend.
