Sunday could have been the moment the Carolina Panthers have waited eight years for, but a loss to the Seattle Seahawks prevented Dave Canales' team from clinching the NFC South.
Now, it's onto Week 18 for Carolina.
The Panthers will go into the final week of the season with a chance to clinch their first playoff berth since 2017, but they won't be able to stumble their way in with a loss.
Here's a look at the Panthers' place in the NFC playoff picture after their loss to Seattle.
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Panthers playoff picture
The Panthers remain at the top of the NFC South through 17 weeks and would be the No. 4 seed in the NFC if the season ended Sunday.
| Seed | Team | Record |
| 1 | Seahawks* | 13-3 |
| 2 | Bears* | 11-4 |
| 3 | Eagles* | 10-5 |
| 4 | Panthers | 8-8 |
| 5 | 49ers* | 11-4 |
| 6 | Rams* | 11-4 |
| 7 | Packers | 9-6-1 |
| 8 | Vikings | 8-8 |
| 9 | Lions | 8-8 |
| 10 | Cowboys | 7-8 |
| 11 | Buccaneers | 7-9 |
| 12 | Falcons | 6-9 |
| 13 | Saints | 6-10 |
| 14 | Commanders | 4-12 |
| 15 | Cardinals | 3-13 |
| 16 | Giants | 2-13 |
Despite a massive seeding gap between the Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with Tampa Bay sitting at No. 11 in the NFC, their matchup in Week 18 will determine the NFC South. A Panthers win would keep Carolina in the No. 4 seed as the NFC South champions, but a Buccaneers win would make Tampa Bay the No. 4 seed and knock Carolina out of playoff contention altogether.
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NFC South standings
| Rank | Team | Record | GB |
| 1 | Panthers | 8-8 | -- |
| 2 | Buccaneers | 7-9 | 1.0 |
| 3 | Falcons | 6-9 | 1.5 |
| 4 | Saints | 6-10 | 2.0 |
The Panthers are the outright NFC South leader through 16 games, but they need a win over the Buccaneers in Week 18 to capture the division title and go to the playoffs.
While the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints have pulled closer in the division, both have long been eliminated from playoff contention.
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Panthers remaining schedule
| Date | Matchup | Time |
| TBD (Week 18) | at Buccaneers | TBD |
The Panthers only have one game remaining on their schedule, a division-deciding game against the Buccaneers in Week 18.
Because the NFL will not set the Week 18 schedule until late Sunday night in Week 17 at the earliest, the Panthers do not yet know whether they are playing on Saturday or Sunday.