NFL world reacts to Panthers getting hosed by refs in Week 18 loss to Bucs

The Carolina Panthers caught the, well, [insert expletive here] end of the stick in Sunday's massive NFC South showdown.

Saturday's 16-14 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was, unfortunately, headlined by its officiating crew. What was supposed to be an intriguing battle for one of the NFL's wildest divisions ended up as an ugly wart on the face of the league, thanks to these . . .

Moderately insane chain of events.

Bryce Young throws obvious backward pass to Dowdle, who picks it up with room to run but it’s whistled dead immediately by an official who ruled it a forward pass. Referee Brad Allen then announces it’s a backward pass “that went out of bounds”… pic.twitter.com/csa1XQkUKP— Michael Hurley (@michaelFhurley) January 3, 2026

Bucs rip the helmet right off of a Panthers player with no flag… pic.twitter.com/Jx4UUtiO0n— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) January 3, 2026

Just embarrassing that this is a pass interference call on Tetairoa McMillan, regardless of what ESPN rules analyst is claiming.

???? @TWDTV1pic.twitter.com/JDnk4lUu7u— Andrew Jerell Jones, Luke 1:37 (BlueSky too now) (@sluggahjells) January 3, 2026

Otton trips over himself and the Panthers get flagged for pass interference pic.twitter.com/PkNJv7I9yj— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs) January 3, 2026

Panthers head coach Dave Canales, instead of feeding into the controversy, took the high road following the rough defeat.

"I don't really wanna get into that, because we just didn't play well enough—offensively, speaking," Canales replied when asked about the calls. "We didn't get our run game going, a bad day on third down—which doesn't give us an opportunity to extend drives and really have a balanced offense the way that we can play.

"Some missed opportunities out there. So it really just has to be on us and about the execution and all of us making sure we're in the right plays at the right time."

But the folks over on Twitter/X, unlike Canales, probably don't have to worry about any discipline from the NFL for airing out their opinions on the matter.

Here's how the NFL world is reacting to Saturday's controversial rulings . . .

Are yall seeing the refs or am i tripping❔— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) January 3, 2026

That flag was so late lol— Michael Thomas (@Cantguardmike) January 3, 2026

These refs are cheating for Tampa Bay— Daurice Fountain (@Reece_JMM) January 3, 2026

Incidental contact down the field. This rules analyst SUCKS!

Another TERRIBLE call in favor of…— Darius Butler (@DariusJButler) January 3, 2026

Carolina is getting Jobbed right now by the officials! No way around it. They’re getting crushed with awful calls.— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) January 3, 2026

Yeah normally i say they be calling some crazy stuff on dbs but u can’t call this opi it’s within five yards. https://t.co/MgYmKrLNj3— The Gilly Lock (@BumpNrunGilm0re) January 4, 2026

NFL and Refs will put out an apology and outcomes will be the same! Lol It’s Rigged! ???????????? https://t.co/jC7zi76Jzv— Tre Boston (@TreBos10) January 4, 2026

“The ruling on the field is a backwards pass that went out of bounds” pic.twitter.com/CIShEYr827— Bad Sports Refs (@BadSportsRefs) January 3, 2026

Panthers are getting absolutely hosed by the refs.

The officiating in this sport is such a joke.— Zack Kelberman (@KelbermanNFL) January 3, 2026

Not a “blame the refs” guys, but that one was pretty bad and impactful https://t.co/JHR1sf2oCI— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) January 3, 2026

credit to these refs, they’ve been bad since the opening whistle so they’re consistent— Mike Golic Jr (@mikegolicjr) January 3, 2026

Just search for “Brad Allen” on this app and you will see a rare display of unity— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) January 4, 2026

Ya gotta be really bad at your job to bring both things to mind, but Brad Allen qualifies. And Happy New Year Hi! https://t.co/GpHQsuEO6h— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) January 4, 2026

Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.

This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: NFL world reacts to Panthers getting hosed by refs in loss to Bucs