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Coach Dave Canales Watches Must-See NFL TV, Witnesses Carolina Panthers Clinch NFC South Title

Jeff Hawkins Written by Sports EditorJeff Hawkins
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Bryce Young runs the ball.

Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales’ family sat mesmerized by Sunday afternoon must-see NFL TV.

With his family gathered, Canales said: “It was amazing. We all yelled like crazy.”

Stationed mostly on the couch at his Charlotte, N.C., home, Canales watched the Atlanta Falcons defeat the visiting New Orleans Saints, 19-17. The outcome clinched the NFC South championship for the Panthers (8-9), their first since 2015.

The Panthers, who fell to the 8-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16-14 on Saturday, earned the divisional tiebreaker because they swept the Falcons this season.

“I’m just so excited for Panthers fans everywhere,” Canales said during a teleconference Sunday.

The second-year coach experienced the public’s display of emotion first-hand after the Falcons (8-9) survived a late Saints rally.

“The neighborhood is crazy,” Canales said. “We were yelling from our couch as a family and walked outside where we normally ride bikes and walk the dogs, and there were just neighbors out in (their) front yards.

“Everyone was really excited.”

Carolina Panthers Preparing For Los Angeles Rams Rematch

The No. 4-seeded Panthers will face the No. 5 Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round next Saturday. The Panthers beat the Rams, 31-28, at Bank of America Stadium on Nov. 30.

“I’m so grateful to have one more opportunity to get back to work where we can get on that grass. We go through the preparation, we have our meetings, and once we’re in cleats and once we’re on that grass, it’s like the next thing becomes really clear, the focus of what we’re doing, the walkthroughs, and the opponent. It just becomes all about that, and that’s what’s so cool about this time of year.

“It’s like, here we go, we get one more opportunity. Let’s keep this, let’s make this statement true: 1-0 with a chance to win the championship, how long can we keep that statement true?”

Jeff Hawkins Written by Sports EditorJeff Hawkins
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He joined the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on NASCAR's increasing corporate influences, particularly in northern racetracks — commentary which you might find Jeff building on as part of the Motorsports writing team at Sportscasting now.  
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