The 2025 season hascome down to the wire for the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With a win or tie, the Panthers will be crowned NFC South champions, clinching the No. 4 seed and a home playoff game in the wild-card round. It would mark their first division title since the 2015 season, when Carolina went all the way to Super Bowl 50 with Cam Newton at quarterback, eventually losing to the Denver Broncos.
Carolina (8-8) has lost two of its last three since its bye week in Week 14. They had an opportunity to clinch the division last week and failed miserably, losing to Seattle, 27-10. Now the Panthers need to win or tie on the road to punch that postseason ticket; otherwise, their path to the playoffs looks a lot murkier. ThePanthers took the first matchup just a couple of weeks agobetween these rivals, 23-20 in Charlotte.
Tampa Bay has been free-falling in thesecond half of the season and has won just one gamesince its Week 9 bye. Despite the implosion, the Buccaneers can still win the NFC South and make the playoffs as the No. 4 seed, but they'll need a little help. The Bucs need to beat the Panthers, but also need the Atlanta Falcons to lose to the New Orleans Saints in Week 18.
How to watch Panthers vs. Buccaneers
Panthers-Bucs start time:4:30 p.m. ETLocation:Raymond James Stadium | Tampa Bay, FloridaTV channel, live stream:ESPN, ABC, NFL+
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more as the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers kick off the Saturday slate in Week 18.
