Even on the last day of his team’s bye week, Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales was all about football.Sunday’s outcome between the New Orleans Saints and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers held quite a bit of weight for Carolina, who entered their break just half a game behind the NFC South lead. And, by the end of that game, the Panthers came out winners—as the Bucs fell in a 24-20 loss to the visiting Saints.Canales, after getting back to the practice field on Monday, was asked if he was tuned in to that important Week 14 matchup.”I was watching the game, yeah. Wanted to make sure I was connected to the story of it,” Canales replied. “Gotta be honest—I got a little emotionally involved in the game, at times. It’s something I try to remind our players is, like, ‘Hey, watch these games, let’s try not to get too emotionally connected.'”But how can you not? It impacts all of us in this division and, certainly, it impacts us going into this week with another division opponent.”Canales was then asked if he really was cheering for the Saints.”I mean, anything that helps, right?” he stated. “We’re all competin’ out here. And honestly, knowing that they’re playing good football, knowing that it’s gonna require the best of us, allows us to make sure that the focus is right. It heightens the awareness, so that we understand—every single week, this league is full of teams, especially the ones that are finding their best ball late in the season. It’s a really important opportunity for us.”Now, with four games remaining, Carolina and Tampa are tied atop the division at 7-6. Not since 2017, the year of their last playoff berth, have the Panthers had at least a share of first place of the NFC South this late into a season.Two of those last four contests will come against the Buccaneers, in Weeks 16 and 18. But before the Panthers get there, they’ll have to face their buddies from yesterday—those nettlesome 3-10 Saints—this upcoming weekend.Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers HC Dave Canales admits he was hate-watching the Bucs in Week 14