On this episode of Carolina Confidential on the Forecast Sports Network, host Gerrell Wheeler breaks down where the Carolina Panthers stand coming out of the bye week and why the playoff race is suddenly very real in Charlotte. Sitting at 7–6 and ninth in the NFC, the Panthers are tied with Tampa Bay and still have both matchups with the Bucs ahead of them—meaning they fully control their own destiny in the NFC South. Gerrell walks listeners through the current NFC playoff picture, explains why Tampa holds the tiebreaker right now, and breaks down the common-opponent math that has the Bucs narrowly ahead in the standings.

From there, Gerrell turns up the urgency for this closing stretch. He explains why losing to the Saints a second time would be inexcusable, why practice habits have to change, and why Bryce Young simply cannot afford another lackluster performance with the playoffs “staring us right in the face.” With four games left—three of them in the division—Gerrell lays out what has to happen for Carolina to snap its playoff drought, what success would really look like the rest of the way, and why Sunday is going to be stressful for every Panthers fan riding this roller coaster to the finish.