Meanwhile in the NFC, the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles are floundering, the Detroit Lions might not even make the postseason and there's also no clear team-to-beat in their place, with only a single game separating the one seed and the seventh seed.

A former Panthers pass rusher, who spent all but four days of his NFL career in Carolina, announced his retirement on Wednesday.

Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn returned to full practice before the NFC South clash with the Saints in Week 15.

Carolina has also forced more turnovers (1.3 per game, 10th in 2025 vs. 1.0 per game in 2024, tied for 19th), and given up less drastically less rushing yards per contest in 2025 (118.7 YPG, 18th in the NFL vs 179.

One of the NFL's biggest surprises, Carolina (7-6) is coming off an impressive 31-28 win over the Los Angeles Rams. And while they are still on the outside looking in on the NFC playoff picture, the Panthers now control their own playoff destiny in the NFC South thanks to the Buccaneers ' loss to the Falcons on Thursday night.

Let’s take a closer look at one of the prospects the Panthers could select in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Josh Kendall and Chad Graff of The Athletic released their NFL Power Rankings for Week 15. The focus here are the Carolina Panthers. Dave Canales’s squad was off last week, and managed to move three rungs up the ladder from the No. 18 spot to 15th. The Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers both own 7-6 win-loss records atop the NFC South.