Panthers may be slated for Monday night matchup with NFC South rival

The Carolina Panthers might be making it back to Monday night.

According to @NerdingonNFL on Twitter/x, the defending NFC South champions will visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football this upcoming season. The matchup is expected to take place in Week 12.

This would mark the second straight year that the Panthers have appeared on the Monday night broadcast, as they traveled to take on the San Francisco 49ers—also for a Week 12 showdown—in 2025. That outing resulted in a 20-9 loss.

Carolina and Tampa Bay, who battled for the division crown until the bitter end of last season, split their series at a win apiece. The Panthers drew first blood in a 23-20 win at Bank of America Stadium in Week 16, then fell short in the finale at Raymond James Stadium in a 16-14 defeat.

Both teams finished at 8-9, but the Panthers were awarded the NFC South title off a three-way tiebreaker thanks to a Week 18 victory by the Atlanta Falcons.

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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: 2026 NFL schedule release: Panthers rumored to be playing Bucs on MNF