Panthers' playoff drought ends as Falcons prevail

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- It didn't happen the way they wanted, but the Carolina Panthers' seven-year playoff drought ended Sunday.

Carolina captured the NFC South for the first time since 2015 by virtue of the Atlanta Falcons' 19-17 win over the New Orleans Saints at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, about 250 miles south of Charlotte.

The Panthers qualified for postseason play less than 24 hours after a 16-14 loss to the Buccaneers that included several controversial plays on a rain-soaked day in Tampa, Florida.

The Falcons, Panthers and Saints all finished the regular season at 8-9. Carolina won the division because of a 3-1 record against the other two, including a 2-0 mark against Atlanta.

The Bucs would have been the division champions had the Saints beaten or tied the Falcons.

And it nearly happened.

Trailing 16-10 in the fourth quarter, the Saints drove to the Atlanta 20 before Dee Alford returned an interception of a Tyler Shough pass 59 yards to the Saints' 27 with 3:14 remaining. Zane Gonzalez followed with a 38-yard field goal to extend Atlanta's lead to nine points. Shough responded with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Ronnie Bell with 1:11 left, but Atlanta recovered an onside kick to seal the win.

The Panthers became the first team since at least 1990 to clinch a playoff spot in the final week of the season despite losing their final game and finishing with a losing record.

The only remaining drama is Carolina's opponent for next weekend's NFC wild-card game. If the Los Angeles Rams defeat the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, the Rams will travel to Charlotte, where they lost 31-28 to the Panthers on Nov. 30.

If the Rams lose, former Carolina running back Christian McCaffrey and the San Francisco 49ers (12-5) will come to Bank of America Stadium. The 49ers defeated the Panthers 20-9 on "Monday Night Football" in Week 12.