CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Nobody apparently wants to win the NFC South.
The Carolina Panthers had a chance to seize control after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers squandered a 14-point fourth-quarter lead and lost to the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. All the Panthers had to do was beat the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, then the Bucs at home, and their seven-year playoff drought would be over.
Instead, the inconsistencies that have haunted Carolina all season led to it squandering a 10-point second-half lead in a 20-17 loss.
The game-winning 47-yard field goal with two seconds left was symbolic of how up and down this season has been. It was set up by a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty -- the last of 11 Carolina penalties for 103 yards -- by safety Lathan Ransom with nine seconds remaining.
The loss left the Panthers and Bucs 7-7 heading into Sunday's game at Bank of America Stadium (1 p.m. ET, Fox), the first of two games between the division rivals over the final three weeks.
Coach Dave Canales took his usual positive outlook.
"There's two things going on,'' Canales said. "There's a lot of guys who are really disappointed because of the missed opportunity that we had. And at the same time there's a lot of great leaders in the locker room that understand we've got a lot of football in front of us.''
By Monday, players already were moving on -- or trying to.
"We were going to have to win anyway,'' cornerback Jaycee Horn said of needing to beat the Bucs on Sunday. "It was going to be a must-win game against Tampa anyway. We're going to have to [win] now, so that's what we get.
"We've just got to flush this loss. Even though it hurt because we felt like we should have won that game, losing control multiple times, but we have to go hard this week, fix up anything we messed up and go get a win.''
It was their second loss to the 4-10 Saints.
"Both times we played them we felt like we should have won,'' said Horn, recalling the 17-7 loss at home to New Orleans last month. "We beat tougher teams than that. That's the most frustrating part.
"Losing two to them kind of hurt us. We just have to find a way to bounce back.''
Two issues for the Panthers moving forward are the schedule and overcoming inconsistency.
Besides two games against the Bucs, they face the Seattle Seahawks, who are tied with the Los Angeles Rams atop the NFC at 11-3. That is key because the Panthers' two best paths to the division title are to sweep the Bucs or beat Tampa Bay and Seattle and have the Bucs lose their Week 17 game against the Miami Dolphins.
In terms of being inconsistent, the Panthers have won every other game the past eight weeks. They haven't put together consecutive victories since winning three straight against the Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets in October.
Canales is thankful to have a shot at the playoffs in his second season.
"We're really fortunate to be in this position where we can play the Bucs twice,'' he said. "To me, it plays into a great opportunity for us.''
Canales went on to talk about mental toughness and chasing Carolina's best football. He was clear that Sunday wasn't close to the best. The Panthers failed to convert a fourth-and-a-foot situation that allowed the Saints to score the tying touchdown with 2:33 remaining.
With 57 seconds left, they allowed the Saints to drive from the 9-yard line into position for the game-winner. While the secondary was what Canales called "totally disjointed'' in allowing receiver Chris Olave to take over in the second half, the most costly mistake was Ransom's unnecessary roughness penalty when he hit rookie quarterback Tyler Shough, who was sliding, with under 12 seconds left.
"We have to be smarter in those situations,'' Canales said.
Said Ransom, "Every yard matters, so I'm just trying to stop him as fast as I can. ... He's the quarterback, so I've got to be more aware of that situation.''
Carolina quarterback Bryce Young was 15-of-24 for 163 yards and a touchdown Sunday, but Shough shined for the Saints in the fourth quarter, completing 13-of-18 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown.
"We are a team that prides ourselves on finishing,'' Young said. "Didn't get that done today.''
The good news for Carolina is the Bucs have been more inconsistent lately. They've lost two straight and five of their past six, losing close games they were winning earlier this season.
Also in the Panthers' favor, in a strange way, they opened as a 2.5-point underdog to Tampa. But since 2021, Carolina is an NFL-worst 0-12 as the favorite, including Sunday, according to ESPN Research.
But it's the inconsistency that concerns Canales the most.
"This team is trying to find an identity of professionalism, of maturity, just to have that consistent outcome,'' Canales said. "That's what we're looking for. That's the challenge that we all have as a staff, and certainly the players as well.
"We have to find consistency because that's what really good teams look like.''