Even after loss, Panthers remain tied for first place in the NFC South

Even after the third-quarter gut-punch, they still had the ball with a chance to win late.

And again, all the guys who were part of last year’s playoff team (which was actually the second Panthers team to go to win the division with a losing record, along with the 7-8-1 champs in 2014) remember this. But even players who were elsewhere understand this is far from over.

Center Luke Fortner was part of a Jaguars team in 2022 that started 3-7 and made the playoffs, and a 2023 Jaguars team that started 8-3 and missed the postseason. So he knows that it’s still November.

So as much as this loss smarted, he’s aware of the neighborhood he lives in.

“There you go,” Fortner said. “Yeah, it’s a weird balance. So I think the overall message is just like, you come back from a loss, we just hit the 50 percent mark of the season, so when you think about meaningful games, right, those are going to happen later. Every game’s meaningful, but as you get in December or January, right, those are more telling.”

And because they live in the neighborhood they live in, they know it’s a long season.

“We’ve got everything in front of us,” defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton said. “So, it’s just exciting. It really does seem like there’s like a sense of hope, like there’s not despair around here. Like you feel like you’re on the right track.

“Yeah, we’re never going to hang our heads. You know, losing three games sucks, but one play away from making that game today, a difference maker. So, we go back in, pay attention to details, and we fix it.”