CHARLOTTE — The Panthers have one game left and nothing tangible to play for beyond draft position and pride.

They're playing anyway.

Panthers head coach Dave Canales said they were planning on playing quarterback Bryce Young and the rest of his starters, and didn't plan on shutting down any players who were able to go.

"Absolutely, our mentality as a team is to finish strong," Canales said. "We have one more opportunity to get back to our football, to play balanced football, complementary football, and the pursuit of that continues this week against the Falcons.

"The focus is for all of us, the guys that are available, we're playing. In this game, these opportunities are so important as we learn about who we are as a team as we continue to progress and develop our systems and our concepts. So we're just taking this as another opportunity to finish."

Canales was asked about "shutting down," running back Chuba Hubbard, who was placed on injured reserve Saturday because of a calf strain. He explained that it wasn't about saving anyone since Hubbard had a two-to-four-week injury with two to play.

"The guys that are day-to-day, we're going to look at them," Canales said. "We're all playing, we're all competing, giving us a chance to just finish, finish one more time and finish what we started."

As such, Canales said that running back Miles Sanders has been cleared to return, and that he looked forward to getting him on the field Wednesday.

Sanders was placed on IR on Nov. 23 with an ankle injury suffered in Germany. The Panthers have used seven of their eight allowed return from IR designations, so with the team short on backs, it makes a degree of sense. The Panthers were down to Raheem Blackshear and Mike Boone on Sunday, and they were held to a season-low 39 yards on the ground.

"Miles has been cleared," Canales said. "Last week, he was cleared to be able to play, so I'm really looking forward to getting him back on the field for practice this week. He was cleared later in the week, so it really wasn't enough time to get him back into the flow of things for this week, but really looking forward to opening that window and getting him back out there."

Sanders has 38 carries for 139 yards in 10 games, with fewer opportunities while Hubbard was in the midst of a 1,195-yard, 10-touchdown season.

Problems on defense start with the offense

Coaches always preach complementary football. One side of the ball directly and intrinsically feeds into another. This isn't a new or groundbreaking concept, but it was brutally on display Sunday as the Carolina Panthers fell 48-14 to the Buccaneers.

"We couldn't stay out there offensively, defensively couldn't get off the field, and the big block punt for another touchdown is huge," coach Dave Canales listed Sunday afternoon, outlining all that went in to one of the Panthers worst losses of the season. "So in all phases, it's stuff that we all got to carry together."

It's easy, and perhaps justified, to point to the defense after a loss in which they gave up 551 yards (202 on the ground and 349 through the air), 33 first downs, 71 percent on third down, and 41:11 time of possession—all now the most or tied for the most in their respective categories in team history.

When faced with those numbers though, as hard as they are to digest, Canales pointed to another set of numbers that told the full story.

"I mean it's all of us, and I know that we've given up a lot of yards and points, I understand that but when you go 22 percent on third down offensively and they make it hard like that and we're off the field, the defense has to go right back out there against a really good offensive attack."

The Panthers third down percentage (2-of-9) meant while Carolina ran 46 plays, Tampa Bay ran 74 total (averaging 7.4 yards per play). This wasn't a matter of a second-half wear down either. In the first half alone, the Bucs ran 44 plays to the Panthers 22 snaps.

"We gave them so many opportunities to continue to build off of their momentum and things they were doing," Canales said. "So it's all of us and I think everybody, the guys will get up here and tell you that we can all do better in our different areas."

By Monday afternoon, Canales and staff had watched the tape, which he called "sobering" and showcasing "a lack of ability to play our brand of football that we wanted to get to."

It also was a stark reminder of what the Panthers have to do this weekend to notch a win against the Atlanta Falcons. Raheem Morris' group is 12th in the league, averaging 124.5 yards per game on the ground with 15 rushing touchdowns.

"They're gonna try to run the ball, so we'll take that first and foremost," Canales said.

Stopping the run can be easier said than done, especially when facing one of the top five rushers in the league, Bijan Robinson. The second year player has 1,286 yards and counting on the ground. The Panthers are last in the league in rushing yards allowed, averaging 176.9 per game. They're the first team to allow 200+ rushing yards in five straight games since the 1981 Patriots.

How do they stop the bleeding against Robinson and the Falcons?

As Canales alluded to on Sunday, it starts on the other side of the ball.

"Offensively just try to get right back on track with play a little bit more balanced football and that starts with 3rd down, so a lot of emphasis and attention there."