Panthers’ impressive growth story would be impacted by crushing defeat at Bucs

The Carolina Panthers have come a long way. This time last year, there was real debate over whether or not the Panthers should lose the final game of the season. They could've moved up higher in the draft, and they'd have finished fourth and had a slightly easier schedule in 2025.

The Panthers did win, but that brought to an end another dreadful season. 5-12 doesn't cut it. It was nice after a two-win season in 2023, but "nice" doesn't make a good football team, something Panthers fans have been yearning for.

The team now sits, one year after that win, at 8-8 and going into a win-and-in contest, hence the "long way" they've come. But all that growth would come to an end, and the Panthers would come crashing back down to Earth with a loss today in Tampa.

Loss to Buccaneers would sour exciting 2025 Panthers season

Dec 21, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) drops to throw during the first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

If the Panthers lose and the Atlanta Falcons lose tomorrow, they will finish 8-9 and in second place. They do not have a tiebreaker over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which is what makes today's game so vital.

They have shown that they can hang with better teams, beating the Los Angeles Rams and Green Bay Packers (on the road) when both were the NFC's top seed. But that all becomes rather meaningless if they can't win the biggest game of the season.

Winning big games is a sign of growth, but losing the biggest kind of ruins it. The Buccaneers are reeling, and they've already lost to the Panthers. Everything points to a Panthers win, so losing would be particularly crushing.

At a macro level, finishing 8-9 and missing out on the playoffs isn't bad after the last two seasons, but on a micro level, the Panthers have had chances to put the Bucs away during their 1-7 slide and have failed to do so.

Young teams can be inconsistent like that, and the Panthers are consistently inconsistent. The difference between a team that can win a game like today's and a team that folds under pressure is significant.

Just playing in this game is good for the growth of this franchise, namely Bryce Young and Dave Canales. What would be even more beneficial? Winning a road game for the division and getting to experience a playoff game.

The Panthers will likely get rolled by whoever they face in round one if they make the playoffs. That's beside the point. We're essentially in the playoffs now, and losing a winnable contest when looking at it through that lens is highly disappointing.

It's like when the Panthers snuck into the playoffs in 2014. They were 7-8-1, so just getting in was a little silly but impactful. That's where we are now. The Panthers are "in," so to speak.

In 2014, the Panthers then got to face an Arizona Cardinals team essentially playing without a quarterback, making it a winnable game for even a bad team. That's where the Panthers are today, facing a winnable game that doesn't change much for the overall trajectory of the team.

But winning that game is important. And if this season ends in disappointment, it'll be so easy to forget all the growth that took place.

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