CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When the Carolina Panthers beat the New Orleans Saints with a last-second field goal on Sunday, it did more than give them a seventh win on the year.
The Panthers' Week 18 victory gave the team a 7-10 record and solidified a 2nd place finish in the NFC South. That ranking controls three games that will appear on Carolina's 2023 schedule.
The other 14 are from a predetermined scheduling formula set up by the NFL.
Carolina will host eight games in the 2023 season and play nine games on the road, which swaps those numbers from the 2022 season.
Home games
Atlanta Falcons
The Panthers will host their NFC South rival in 2023, just as they have every year since the team's inception in 1995.
In 2022, the Panthers and Falcons split the series. Atlanta won Week 8's matchup in overtime 37-34. The game was highlighted by a 62-yard touchdown from PJ Walker to DJ Moore in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter.
Carolina took care of business in the second meeting, winning 25-15 in a Thursday night game played on a slogging Bank of America Stadium.
The Falcons lead the all-time series 35-21. In Carolina, the Falcons lead the series 15-13.
New Orleans Saints
The Panthers have played the Saints more times (57) than any other team. They will get two more shots at their divisional foe in 2023, as usual.
Carolina swept New Orleans in the 2022 season. The Panthers won 22-14 in Week 3 in what turned out to be Matt Rhule's last win as a head coach for the Panthers. Carolina wrapped up the year with a sloppy 10-7 win over the Saints in Week 18.
New Orleans holds a slight edge over the Panthers 29-28 all-time, including one playoff game, a 2017 season Wild Card victory for the Saints.
In Carolina, the series is tied 14-14.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Unlike the Falcons and Saints, the Panthers have not always shared a division with the Buccaneers. The two teams were placed together after the 2002 realignment.
Carolina upset the Tom Brady-led Buccaneers in Week 7 21-3. The win, paired with a number of inconsistent Tampa Bay performances, allowed Week 17's matchup between the teams to be a defacto NFC South championship game.
Tampa Bay won that game 30-24 despite the Panthers holding a 21-10 lead in the 4th quarter.
The Panthers lead the all-time series 25-20. In Carolina, the Panthers have a 13-10 advantage.
Dallas Cowboys
America's Team will visit Charlotte in the 2023 season after similarly finishing second place in their division.
The last meeting between these two teams ended in a 36-28 Cowboys victory that put a damper on Sam Darnold and Carolina's 3-0 start.
The Panthers last bested the Cowboys in 2018 with a 16-8 win at Bank of America Stadium.
Dallas leads the all-time series 10-5, including two playoff games that the Panthers won. In Charlotte, the Cowboys have a 5-3 record.
Green Bay Packers
The 2023 season will see each NFC South team face all four NFC North teams.
The Panthers last saw the Packers in 2020, when Green Bay won on Lambeau Field 24-16.
Carolina's last win over Green Bay came in 2017 with a 31-24 victory that was also the last time the two squads played in Charlotte.
The Packers lead the all-time series 11-6, including a Green Bay victory in the 1996 NFC Championship Game.
In Carolina, the Packers hold a 5-4 record.
Minnesota Vikings
The other NFC North team the Panthers will host is the Minnesota Vikings, who finished 2022 with a 13-4 record, the best record of any Carolina opponent in 2023.
The two teams last met in 2021, when the Vikings won in overtime with a Kirk Cousins touchdown pass.
Carolina's last win over Minnesota came in 2017 when the Panthers won 31-24.
The Vikings lead the all-time series 10-6. In Charlotte, the series is tied 3-3. Interestingly, the Vikings did not visit Carolina until 2005, the Panthers' 11th season in existence.
Houston Texans
NFC South and AFC South teams will collide in 2023, with the Panthers hosting two of them. The Texans went through most of the 2022 season with the worst record in the league, but a remarkable win in the last week of the season cost Houston the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
Carolina has won four straight games against the Texans, with the last one coming in 2021 as a 24-9 Panthers win. Houston last beat the Panthers in 2007.
The Panthers lead the all-time series 4-2. In Charlotte, the series is tied 1-1.
Indianapolis Colts
Like the Panthers, the Colts cut ties with their head coach in the middle of the 2022 NFL season. Unlike the Panthers, Indianapolis went on a downward spiral that left them as one of the league's worst teams under their interim head coach.
The Colts demolished the Panthers 38-6 in their last meeting in 2019. Carolina last defeated Indianapolis in a 29-26 overtime win.
The Panthers lead the all-time series 5-2. Carolina leads the series at home 2-1.
Away games
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons lead the series 20-8 in Atlanta.
New Orleans Saints
The Saints lead the series 15-14 in New Orleans.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Panthers lead the series in Tampa Bay 12-10.
Chicago Bears
The Panthers will visit the team with the NFL's worst 2022 record in 2023.
Carolina's last game against the Panthers ended in a 23-16 Bears win. The Panthers have not defeated the Bears since 2014, with a 31-24 victory.
Chicago leads the all-time series 7-4. The Bears lead 5-1 when they host the game.
Detroit Lions
Carolina's bombshell win over the Lions in Week 16 set forth a battle for the NFC South title between the Panthers and Buccaneers.
The Panthers set a franchise record for rushing yards in their last game against Detroit when they won 37-23 on Christmas Eve 2022.
Detroit last defeated the Panthers in 2018.
The Panthers hold an 8-3 advantage over the Lions. In Detroit, the series is tied 2-2.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Panthers will travel to northeast Florida to face their fellow 1995 expansion foe in 2023.
Carolina has won three straight games against the Jaguars, with the last win coming in 2019.
The Jaguars last beat the Panthers in 2007, with a crushing 37-6 victory.
Carolina leads the all-time series 4-3. In Jacksonville, the Jaguars lead 2-1.
Tennesee Titans
Carolina will travel one state over to face the Titans in 2023.
The Panthers won the last time these two teams faced with a 30-20 win in 2019. Tennessee's last win over Carolina came in 2011 with a demolishing 30-3 victory.
The all-time series is tied 3-3. The series is tied 1-1 when the game is played in Tennessee. The Panthers defeated the Houston Oilers on the road in their first meeting with the franchise in 1996.
Seattle Seahawks
Seattle's 2nd place finish in the NFC South set up this matchup.
Panthers fans don't have to think too hard to remember the last time these two teams played; it came in Week 14 when Carolina won 30-24.
The Seahawks last defeated the Panthers in 2019 with a 30-24 score.
Seattle leads the all-time series 10-5, including three playoff games (Seattle 1-2). In Seattle, the Seahawks lead 5-2.
Miami Dolphins
The Panthers' "17th game" takes place against an alternating AFC team that finished in the same spot in their division. In 2023, that game will earn the Panthers a visit to Miami.
The Dolphins defeated the Panthers 33-10 in the last meeting between the two teams. Carolina last defeated the Dolphins in 2017 with a 45-21 victory.
Miami leads the all-time series 5-2. In Miami, the Dolphins lead 3-1.
The NFL schedule will be fully released sometime in the offseason. The Panthers will hope to improve on their 7-10 record.