Canales had a message for playoff-bound Panthers, and a question for David Tepper
As the time ticked down in the Falcons-Saints game Sunday afternoon, Dave Canales was just like every other Carolina Panthers fan.
The Panthers head coach was on his couch. With his family. He was hanging on to every score, every turnover, every moment of the NFC South contest — the one that would ultimately decide the Panthers’ playoff fate.
If the Falcons won, the Panthers were in the postseason; if the Saints prevailed, the Panthers were out and the Buccaneers were in.
“My brother called me after the interception — the Dee Alford interception — and he’s ready to celebrate,” Canales said. “And I was like, ‘Call me back! This ain’t over!’ If I’m on the other side, I’m thinking we have a shot here; let’s go down and get the first points, onside kick and see what we can do.”
Canales laughed and continued: “So I got kind of pissed at him. But it was amazing. We all yelled like crazy. Just really fortunate and proud.”
Eventually, though, after the Falcons recovered an onside kick successfully and knelt the rest of the way en route to a 19-17 victory, the family busied themselves jumping up and down, screaming for joy. They even walked outside their Charlotte home on their front yard, Canales said, and saw some neighbors outside their house, celebrating a set of circumstances this city hasn’t had in a long time:
The Panthers, at long last, are NFL playoff-bound.
Said Canales: “I’m just so excited for Panthers fans everywhere.”
Canales soaked it all in, he said. And that’s because such a feat makes a lot of franchise history. Carolina is going to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. The franchise is this year’s NFC South champion and will host a playoff game in Bank of America Stadium next weekend — the first time that’s happened since 2015, another milestone.
Canales then shared what he’ll tell his coaches and players Monday, once everyone gets in the facility to prepare for their first playoff matchup against the Los Angeles Rams (4:30 p.m., Saturday). But before he did, he shared that he received a phone call from David Tepper — the Panthers’ team owner who purchased the team in 2018 and who, as of Sunday evening, is finally the leader of a playoff-bound franchise.
The exchange between Canales and Tepper:
“Between the two of us, our phones are getting blown up a lot,” Canales said. “When he answered the phone, I said, ‘Is this the owner of the NFC South-champion Panthers?’ And he got a good kick out of that. It’s about all of us competing, treating every day like it’s fourth-and-1. And having that mentality. But we had a good conversation.”
Dave Canales’ message for Carolina Panthers: ‘This is the next one’
Canales told reporters Sunday evening that he hasn’t had the chance to address his team yet. The second-year head coach will do that Monday, when players enter the building and begin preparing for the team’s matchup.
The 44-year-old play-caller, however, knows what his message will be to his team, he said.
Hint: You’ve probably heard something similar before.
“We talk about attacking every game as a championship opportunity,” Canales said. “And over the course of the season, we stacked together enough wins in our division and outside the division to prepare us for this. And so now we take the next step.
“We kind of chop our season up into quarters and treat it like a game. ... And we just have that mentality so we can be on track to seize championship opportunities. And this is the next one. So we just have to go right back to work with our process. What it’s meant is proving to the guys that if we have that mentality — if we take advantage of opportunities and prepare ourselves each week like it’s a championship opportunity — then good things will happen down the stretch.”
He also had a message for the fans. One of gratitude.
After all, he knows how important it is that his team is hosting a first-round playoff game; he’s seen how far a home-field advantage can go, after all, as a coach at the Seattle Seahawks — known for their crowds being called the “12th man” for a reason.
“I’m just so excited to be in Bank of America Stadium one more time,” Canales said. “The energy that’s been there at the end of our season, as we continue to build momentum with the fans showing up early, causing problems for the opponents’ offense.
“I know what type of an advantage that can be for us. I’m so excited to be here.”
Quick hits
— Canales told reporters that the refs in the Panthers’ loss to the Bucs on Saturday never gave the Panthers the chance to replay a critical down after an erroneous whistle stopped it dead. The play: QB Bryce Young fired out a pass to Rico Dowdle, the ball landed on the ground, the refs ruled it incomplete — and then, a few moments later, the refs changed the ruling and called the pass a lateral.
The officiating team then moved the line of scrimmage to where Dowdle picked the ball up, to force a second-and-17, a drive-stunting turn of events. That wasn’t what was supposed to happen without consulting with the teams prior to spotting the ball, according to league rules. Said Canales: “They never gave us the option.”
— Canales specified that there won’t be any celebration Monday. The beginning of the week, in fact, will be a “full-on game plan prep day for the staff.” He said that players will “get back to work when they get back.”
This story was originally published January 4, 2026 at 6:52 PM.
