The Carolina Panthers are deep into tanking for the NFL Draft. But, that did not stop the Bryce Young-led squad from striving for more when they faced Desmond Ridder and the Atlanta Falcons. They notched a win in the low-scoring affair and made sure that the opposing team remembered it. Brian Burns even went out of his way to instill a Christmas-themed reminder to the squad they just beat, via Joe Person of The Athletic.

“Obviously, we’re not gonna clinch anything. But it feels good to mess up their Christmas,” was the hilarious statement that Brian Burns put out after the Panthers got away with the win.

The Panthers were doing all they could to notch their second victory of the season. But, it may have also been an attempt to lessen Desmond Ridder and the Falcons' chances at postseason contention. Bryce Young acted as a serviceable offensive engine and notched 18 completions on 24 attempts. This got them 167 passing yards along with an average yardage of 4.5 yards per play. The three sacks he took to the body did not bother him as he still kept going.

Ridder, on the other hand, had a hard time dealing with the Panthers' secondary. He only got 20 passing attempts while darting 12 of them to a weapon. A touchdown looked good on the stat sheet until he was forced to a costly interception. This loss may have been a delight for the Panthers but it is a bitter holiday wakeup call for their opponents.

Have they just derailed the playoff hopes of Ridder's team?