By MAURA CAREY AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA (AP) — The Panthers are NFC South champions, and they have the Falcons to thank.
Carolina could have clinched the division on Saturday, but a 16-14 loss at Tampa Bay put the fate of the NFC South in the hands of the two teams that had only pride to play for. A win or a tie by the New Orleans Saints at Atlanta would have given the Buccaneers their fifth straight NFC South title. A Falcons win was the only outcome that would send Carolina to the postseason.
The Falcons delivered with a 19-17 victory on Sunday. The Panthers won a three-way tiebreaker of 8-9 teams to reach the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season and win the division for the first time since their Super Bowl run two years earlier.
Watching on TV, second-year Panthers coach Dave Canales was locked in.
“We were just excited, following it every single play. (We) couldn’t take our eyes off the game.” Canales said. “Just the turn of events, I wouldn’t expect anything less from this matchup. Playing the Saints and knowing the type of football they’ve been playing down the stretch, and the Falcons are really putting things together.”
The game came down to the final minutes. Dee Alford ended a promising Saints drive with an interception he returned 59 yards, putting the Falcons in range for a field goal that gave them a 19-10 lead. New Orleans responded with a touchdown and tried an onside kick with 1:11 remaining that Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts recovered.
Canales said his brother called him after Alford’s interception.
“He’s ready to celebrate, and I’m like, ‘Call me back. This ain’t over!’ Because if I’m (the Saints), I’m thinking I’ve got a shot here. Let’s go down and get the first points, get the onside kick and see what we can do,” Canales said. “So I got kind of (ticked) at him. But it was amazing. We all yelled like crazy. Just really fortunate and proud.”
Minutes later, it wasn’t his brother who called. It was owner David Tepper, who hasn’t seen a Panthers playoff game since buying the team in 2018.
“When I answered the phone, I said, ‘Is this the owner of the NFC South champion Panthers?’ He got a good kick out of that. But you know, it’s about all of us competing, treating every day like it’s fourth-and-1,” Canales said.
The Panthers will face either the Rams or the 49ers. They played both teams this year, losing at San Francisco on Nov. 24 and beating visiting Los Angeles six days later.
As the division champ, the Panthers will host the Los Angeles Rams in the first round of the NFC playoffs on Saturday.
The Panthers stunned the Rams in Charlotte 31-28 on Nov. 30, forcing three turnovers by Matthew Stafford.
“I’m just so excited to be in Bank of America Stadium one more time,” Canales said. “The energy that’s been there at the end of our season as we continue to build momentum, and the fans showing up early, being loud, causing problems for the opponents’ offense. I know what type of advantage that can be for us, so I’m so excited to be here.”
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AP Sports Writer Steve Reed contributed to this report.