Why Jaycee Horn thinks Panthers' situation didn't change despite loss to Saints

The Carolina Panthers squandered a golden opportunity to claim sole possession of first place in the NFC South standings when they suffered a 20-17 loss at the New Orleans Saints (4-10) that dropped Carolina to 7-7 this past Sunday. 

The Panthers and 7-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers will now head into Week 16's game at Carolina's Bank of America Stadium knowing that the winner of that contest will enter Week 17 sitting atop the division standings. On Monday, Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn reminded outsiders that his team's situation didn't really change despite the loss to the Saints. 

Panthers were always going to approach the Buccaneers games as must-win

"We were going to have to win anyway,'' Horn said about the upcoming Panthers-Buccaneers showdown, per David Newton of ESPN. "It was going to be a must-win game against Tampa anyway. We're going to have to [win] now, so that's what we get."

Tampa Bay will later host Carolina in Week 18. In Week 17, the Panthers are scheduled to play a home game versus the Seattle Seahawks (11-3) on Dec. 28. That same Sunday, Tampa Bay will be at a Miami Dolphins (6-8) team that was eliminated from the playoffs on Monday night and that could soon bench starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. 

As of Tuesday morning, the ESPN Football Power Index gave the Buccaneers a 75.4 percent chance to win the division, while the Panthers were at 24.6 percent. At that same time, DraftKings Sportsbook had Carolina as a three-point underdog for the Week 16 game versus Tampa Bay. 

Jaycee Horn shares how Panthers must respond after Saints game

"We've just got to flush this loss," Horn added about the defeat in New Orleans. "Even though it hurt because we felt like we should have won that game, losing control multiple times, but we have to go hard this week, fix up anything we messed up and go get a win.''

Both the Panthers and Buccaneers have frustrated their fan bases with inconsistent play throughout the season. Thus, it almost feels like a given that the division race will come down to that Week 18 showdown at Tampa Bay's Raymond James Stadium.