3 winners and 3 losers from Carolina Panthers’ loss at the Bucs in Week 18

Carolina Panthers fans

Overall this season, Carolina Panthers fans are big losers, which I’ll get to in the season recap piece. But for this game, those fiercely loyal to the team are the winners solely because it was the last game they had to suffer through until August.

Whether they’ll have to suffer again come then remains to be seen. But at least fans don’t have to worry about their team for a few months.

We hope, anyway.

Thankfully, the disaster performance was on the road, meaning fans didn’t have to see it first-hand. A season that began so promisingly capitulated in a big way and supporters are rightfully questioning the current direction of the franchise under Matt Rhule’s leadership.

That’s really all I can say. But for all Carolina fans, now you can try and sit back, try to relax, and get ready for free agency and the 2022 NFL Draft.

Unlike some past years, the Panthers didn’t have to watch their draft pick position suffer, and they remained in the same spot. They’ll pick No. 6 overall in April, which is the highest spot for Carolina since selecting Cam Newton first overall in 2011.

And that didn’t turn out too badly, did it?