Division matchups are the most important games of the year, especially in competitive divisions where multiple teams could be in the running for a playoff spot.
The Carolina Panthers aren't in one right now, but as head coach Dave Canales said this week, it is another opportunity to play championship football.
The Panthers sit at 3-2, with their lone division victory coming against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2. This weekend is the first of two games in five days, with Carolina traveling to the Green Bay Packers for Thursday Night Football.
Carolina Panthers must be wary of the Buccaneers despite improved form
While it is easy to look ahead to what could be a fun primetime game next week, the Panthers face a desperate Tampa Bay Buccaneers team searching for wins and unwilling to go quietly.
It could be another slugfest between the two teams in a challenging NFC South battle.
Carolina is looking for their first three-game winning streak since last season and the chance to ride momentum into Thursday night. However, they'll have to do it without star pass rusher Jaelan Phillips, who is out this weekend with a hamstring injury and is likely questionable for next week.
Yet, the Panthers seem ready for the challenge. Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero has done an excellent job with a unit that has missed multiple key starters throughout the season after a horrific showing in Week 1.
Then, there's the offense.
I'm sorry it took me so long to get to this group, but they are the biggest reason the Panthers are sitting at 3-2 with a nice division lead for now. Quarterback Bryce Young is playing, at worst, an NFL MVP-finalist level, leading the league in passing yards per game and posting a historic franchise start.
Last week's game against the Philadelphia Eagles felt like a "regression" from the Panthers' offense, which is a great sign in retrospect that this unit can generate explosive plays against anyone.
Buccaneers defense could pose problems for the Carolina Panthers if they're not ready
That could still be a challenge against Tampa Bay.
Head coach Todd Bowles consistently produces defenses that make you fight and claw for every yard. That is certainly the case with their -0.14 EPA per play, the fourth-best amongst all defenses in the NFL, according to Next Gen Stats.
Not to mention, the Buccaneers are second in the NFL with 75.5 rushing yards allowed per game while allowing the fewest yards allowed after contact per attempt (1.66).
Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard is seventh in the NFL among all qualifying running backs in that same category (3.8).
If the run game struggles, it puts offensive coordinator Brad Idzik in an uncomfortable spot, having to play one-dimensional football. While that may not be a problem given how great Young has been, the Panthers may be in a dogfight either way.
Funny enough, I've been saying Carolina's offense could regress each week since Week 2, and it hasn't happened yet. I'm not wishing for it, but at this level, it's hard to maintain the kind of production they've been putting up as the league's fourth-highest-scoring team (29.2 points per game).
The great thing is the regression may never come, and this is what we're getting all year long.
Tampa Bay will bring everything it has, and knowing the type of player Baker Mayfield is, he'll want this one despite the many attempts to say he felt slighted by an organization that has a totally different regime than the one that cut him.
Even if the Panthers play and win in a slugfest this weekend, it will prepare them for late November and the final weeks of the season, when these types of games could be more common.
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