Panthers and Buccaneers are right where the NFL wanted them to be

Someone in the league office looked into their crystal ball earlier this year and sensed the NFC South title would come down to the Panthers and Buccaneers.

Dec 29, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) great Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) after a game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

When the 2025 NFL schedule was released on May 14, followers of both the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as well as those who delve into the breaking down the 18-week slate, couldn’t help but notice these teams would be meeting twice in the final three weeks of the season.

It’s certainly not unique. In fact, the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders are also playing in Week 16, a Saturday clash at Landover, and in the City of Brotherly Love in Week 18. This made perfect sense as these clubs battled a total of three times in 2024, including the NFC title game.

Apparently, there was some faith put in the Panthers winning four of their final nine games a year ago when it came to the scheduling. If Canales’s team could pick up where it left off in 2024, perhaps this was the team that could challenge the dominant team in the NFC South. The Buccaneers entered this season with the longest current playoff streak in the conference. Tampa Bay won Super Bowl LV as a wild card in 2020, and has owned the top spot in the division in each of the past four seasons.

Dec 14, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints place kicker Charlie Smyth (39) reacts after kicking the game winning field goal for a 20-17 win over the Carolina Panthers in the fourth quarter at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

So both the Panthers and Bucs enter Week 16 with identical 7-7 records, and certainly not a lot of momentum. Canales’s club has now alternated wins and losses in their last eight games, and come off a 20-17 setback at New Orleans. Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers opened 2025 with six wins in their first eight games, but have dropped five of their last six contests.

All told, Raheem Morris’s club dropped two home games in the span of five days, both of those divisional setbacks to the Saints (24-20) and Falcons (29-28). The latter saw the Bucs squander a 14-point fourth-quarter this past Thursday night.

Neither of these teams are bringing any momentum into this showdown at Charlotte this Sunday afternoon, but both the Panthers and Buccaneers are certainly loaded with intrigue. As was the decision to schedule these division rivals twice in the final three weeks to begin with.

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