PHILADELPHIA — Yes, the Panthers were close again.

No, that's not enough for them.

Even though the storyline was a familiar one for them in the wake of the 22-16 loss to the Eagles Sunday, the Panthers are seemingly getting tired of talking about how close they are.

"There's no participation trophies, no consolation," Panthers quarterback Bryce Young said. "Coach says it all the time: it's about us, and when we're executing, we're at our best. We're able to just focus on that, and again, it's not a consolation for today, but it gives us some stuff on film to build off of, the opportunity to identify things we're doing well, how we continue to do it, how we build off of it and the same mindset of how we can improve on things.

"I think just being in the headspace is good for growth, but now it's on us to make sure we actually grow and take those steps."

The Panthers lost on the road for a couple of particular reasons, including allowing the Eagles league-leading rushing game to build on that lead, going for 209 yards on the ground. They allowed the Eagles to convert 7-of-12 third downs. Offensively, Young threw his first pick in a month, and there were a number of dropped passes that they couldn't afford and a missed extra point a week after Eddy Piñeiro missed a pair of field goals.

But those are fine points; those are specifics. In the bigger picture, a team that was given next to no chance to win — again — had yet another chance to win against a better team after last-minute losses to the Chiefs and Bucs.

"We're just going to keep trust in the process of doing what we do," running back Chuba Hubbard said moments after topping the 1,000-yard mark for the season for the first time in his career. "I think at the beginning of the year, a lot of people wrote us off to even be in these types of games at all. They still probably do, but we know what we're capable of doing. We know what we're trying to build here, and I think I said it earlier on in the year where it's going to take a long time.

"It's not just going to click overnight, and we're seeing signs of it. So we're just going to keep going and it's going to click sooner or later."

Narrowing the gap between sooner and later is the focus now.

Veteran right guard Robert Hunt, who came in from a Miami team that built itself into a winner, sighed and acknowledged that it's hard to have the same kinds of conversations after each game. But he also stressed that seeing the signs of quality football — the run game, the competitiveness, Young's continued development — also instilled a sense of confidence.

"I know we're close," Hunt said. "I think everybody here knows we're close. The thing is, like, yeah, we're close, and that's only good for what? Honestly, it's only good for being close in this league. You have to win games; we haven't won the games, you know what I mean?

"Obviously, we're doing good things, but the idea is to change the narrative of being close. Close is not good at the end of the day. We're still losing games, so hopefully, that's not good enough. We want to win the games, and I think we have the guys to do that, and I think it'll hit soon, man.

"I just don't want to discredit this team. You know what I mean? Close is not 'we're good.' It's not deserved, but we've been in those games to win those games; we're not playing to be close. I think we got a lot of guys in here that's busting ass trying to win the game, and unfortunately, we didn't again today."

After three of these in a row — they had the ball with a chance to win at the end of regulation — the word "verge" came up in many conversations in the locker room.

"I think we're on the verge of something great," Hubbard said.

"We're on the verge," cornerback Mike Jackson said. "But being on the verge don't mean nothing until you actually push through."

And being that close creates an annoyance, knowing that the only way to the other side of it is through it.

"There's no real secret but work and intentionality," veteran safety Jordan Fuller said. "We're all just frustrated because we're tired of saying that we're close, you know. I wish I had a better answer for you. But that's really what it is, and being intentional and focusing and just putting everything together

"I'm quite confident we're right there and we're going to keep putting the work in to get over there."

As he's done after each of these last three losses (which followed a two-game win streak), Canales has made sure no one takes the bait of referring to these as moral victories or anything other than something they have to overcome.

"Again, just knocking on the door," Canales began in his post-game press conference before outlining all the ways that door remained closed. "Against a really good team on the road at their place, just the margin of error is so tight. When you're playing an excellent team like the Eagles, we have to find a way to have that consistency all the way throughout.

"Again, that's our pursuit; that's what we're after."