Panthers Clinch NFC South: Latest Comments and Reaction

Before even setting foot on the field for their game with the New Orleans Saints, the Carolina Panthers already have their first win of Week 13. The Panthers became the first NFL team to clinch their division Sunday after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earned a 23-19 win over the Atlanta Falcons:

Each NFC South team besides the Panthers has at least six losses, mathematically eliminating them all from contention. Carolina is currently 11-0, the campaign's lone remaining unbeaten team. Winning the division was seen as a foregone conclusion, as one more win or Falcons loss the remainder of the season would have locked things up.

"The hard part is the spotlight is on us," head coach Ron Rivera said, per Max Henson of the Panthers' official website. "Everybody wants to talk about everything else than the things I want to talk about. I want to talk about getting ready to play the Saints. I know a lot of people want to talk about what the potential could be. The truth of the matter is, you can’t get there until you take care of what’s next."

The Panthers have won the NFC South each of the last three seasons, but this is by far their most dominant performance. Rivera spent an extensive amount of time on the hot seat in both 2013 and 2014 as fans called for his firing, first for conservative play-calling and then for a frustrating 3-8-1 start last season. Each time Rivera's team responded, winning 11 of its final 12 games in 2013 and taking its final four in 2014.

The latter winning streak has allowed Carolina to go more than a calendar year without losing a regular-season game. Now the real test will be putting this all together and finding the postseason success that's eluded the Panthers each of the last two years.

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