Dave Canales won’t blame the refs for the Week 18 loss to the Buccaneers

Dave Canales he won’t kill the referee crew following Carolina The Panthers lost 16-14 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 18 of the 2025 NFL season on Saturday afternoon.

Entering the game, Carolina had a chance to advance to the playoffs with a win over Tampa Bay. However, the team did not take advantage of the opportunity as they will need help from their division mates on Sunday afternoon.

Canales reflected in the loss after the game, according to reporter Alex Zietlow. The head coach credited Tampa Bay for exposing Carolina’s mistakes while ruling out any chance of the officiating being called.

“They capitalized on some of our turnovers. And you know they had those early scores and our defense kind of settled in and made them settle for field goals, which got us back in the game at the end, but I’m just proud of our group. I’m proud of the way we battled, the way we played until the end, we just got a chance and believed in it. guys came together and fought together. I was really proud of that role,” he said is Canales.

“I really don’t want to get into that, because we just didn’t play well enough offensively. We didn’t make the play, a bad day on third down, which doesn’t give us a chance to extend drives and really have a balanced offense in a way that we can play some missed opportunities there. So I really just have to be on us and make sure we make sure we’re in the right moment and we all know.”

#Panthers coach Dave Canales opens his postgame press conference by giving credit #Bucs and also refuses to blame the referees for the team’s defeat. pic.twitter.com/oDVct93K7E

— Alek Zietlov (@alekzietlov05) January 4, 2026

What’s next for Dave Canales, Panthers

Dave Canales and the Panthers are right to feel heartbroken after not being able to get the job done against the Buccaneers. Despite the loss, they stayed alive in the race for the playoffs.

Carolina finishes the regular season at 8-9, currently sitting in second place in the NFC South division standings. They are above the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints while trailing the Buccaneers. Canales talked about what it will take for his team to make the playoffs despite the loss.

“It’s in the hands of the second game, and it’s not what we hoped for, but there’s still hope. They’re still alive. And you know, the locker room must be sore about the missed opportunity, but I can’t take anything away from the dollars the way they played today,” Canales said.

The Panthers will hope for the best when the Falcons take on the Saints on Jan. 4 at 1 p.m. ET. Their playoff fate literally rests in Atlanta’s hands.