Winner takes the NFC South! Regular Season Playoff Game: Panthers at Bucs

Name: Winner takes the NFC South! Regular Season Playoff Game: Panthers at Bucs
Start: 2026-01-03T16:30:00-05:00
Location: Carlisle's Pub

Schedule

Sat, 03 Jan, 2026 at 04:30 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Carlisle's Pub | Winston Salem, NC

The Panthers playoffs start Saturday! Win and we are in! The #4 seed is on the line. No others, no “if Atlanta...”. It’s the #4 seed to the winner of this contest.
Here are the scenarios because it is clear as mud:
Panthers WIN or TIE against the Bucs: The simplest scenario. Win and in as the #4 seed.
Panthers lose and Falcons beat the Stanks: This creates a 3-way tie for 1st place in the NFC South between the Panthers, Falcons and Bucs and since the Panthers beat the Falcons twice and Bucs once the Panthers will be the NFC South champs.
Panthers lose and Atlanta loses: The Bucs are the NFC South winners. We don’t want that.
Playoffs:
The 8PM game Saturday is between the Seahawks and 49ers and the winner takes the NFC West, gets the #1 seed and first-round bye and the loser gets the #5 seed and plays the Panthers next Saturday, Sunday or Monday.
If the Panthers are in there WILL be a playoff game in Charlotte next weekend and there are only slots scheduled; we have no idea who will be playing on which day. Saturday: 4:30 or 8PM, Sunday: 1PM, 4PM or 8PM or Monday at 8PM. (You can follow along with all of the drama at https://fbschedules.com/nfl-playoff-schedule/)
The Panthers will be wearing their WHITE jerseys. At the time of this writing there is approximately a 60% chance of rain between 4PM and 8PM in Tampa.
FOOD: A 4:30 game is a weird time to think about food. Still, feel free to bring whatever you want. There will be some chips and wings. Drop your fixin’ in the comments 👇
This is THE BIGGEST game for the Panthers this season. Carlisle’s opens at 4PM so plan accordingly! Hope to see you there!