CHICAGO -- Eleven days ago, the Carolina Panthers had only one loss and a chance to lay claim as the best team in the NFC with a win against the one-loss Philadelphia Eagles.

Today, they are in a must-win situation against a desperate Tampa Bay team.

Two straight losses will do that for you.

This isn’t the kind of must-win situation the Panthers faced in 2014 when they had to win their final four games to win the NFC South. They are 4-3 with nine games remaining, including five division games.

But they can’t keep squandering winnable games as they have against Philadelphia and Chicago. And they can’t afford to lose Sunday to a 2-4 Tampa Bay team that has lost three straight games and four of its past five.

Not with the defending NFC South champion Atlanta Falcons coming a week later.

Lose one or both of those games and the Panthers could be playing for a wild-card spot instead of a fourth division title in five years. They’re already 0-1 in the South with a 34-13 home loss to New Orleans, which at 4-2 is playing as well as any team in the NFC after beating Green Bay for its fourth straight win.

“I can’t keep getting up here in front of you guys and saying it’s disappointing,’’ coach Ron Rivera said after Sunday’s 17-3 loss to Chicago (3-4). “I’ve said that two weeks in a row.’’

Rivera should be disappointed. The Panthers left several scoring opportunities on the field against Philadelphia thanks to three interceptions by quarterback Cam Newton.

They did it again against Chicago, which scored on a 75-yard muffed lateral to rookie Curtis Samuel and a 76-yard interception return in which the defender got his hand inside of wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin and knocked the ball into the air. Rookie safety Eddie Jackson scored both of those long touchdowns.

Neither should have happened.

Samuel took his eye off the ball and Benjamin didn’t use his 6-foot-5, 243-pound frame to shield the defender as he is prone on occasions not to do.

This team isn’t sound enough to overcome little things like that.

“We’ve got to stop killing ourselves,’’ defensive end Julius Peppers said.

That the Panthers keep doing this against NFC teams has to be concerning. They are 2-3 in the conference, and that will be a factor in tiebreakers for wild-card spots the way things are going with no team taking control in any division.

The inability to force turnovers also is a concern. The Panthers haven’t had an interception since the opening game. Teams that win the turnover battle typically win the most games.

The beating Newton has taken the past two weeks also sends up red flags, particularly after Pro Bowl center Ryan Kalil left in the first quarter after reaggravating the neck injury that sidelined him the past five games. The goal after last season was for Newton to take fewer hits and let his playmakers make big plays.

Newton was sacked five times by the Bears and hit 11 times. There were times he looked frustrated and struggled to pull himself off the ground. The look on his face in his postgame news conference was as solemn as it gets.

“Everybody was frustrated,’’ Benjamin said. “The defense kept giving us three-and-outs and we didn’t put points up. That makes the whole offense frustrated, not just Cam.’’

Three weeks ago, Newton was playing like he did when he won the 2015 NFL MVP. He had six touchdown passes to only one interception in wins at New England and Detroit.

The past two games he’s looked like the quarterback who struggled much of last season, throwing one touchdown and five interceptions.

On Sunday he was beaten by a rookie quarterback, Mitchell Trubisky, who completed only four passes for 107 yards, and 70 of those came on one play.

Newton was at his worst against the blitz, going 4-for-11 for 11 yards and two interceptions.

This is a season-long problem. In Carolina’s three losses, Newton has a 41 percent completion percentage against the blitz and has thrown one touchdown to four interceptions. In four wins, he has completed 81 percent against the blitz, firing three touchdown passes to no interceptions.

“I’m not feeling sorry for myself, nor do I expect anyone else to,’’ Newton said. “Life goes on and we just have to get ready for our next opponent.’’

Tampa Bay is struggling, too, giving up 68 points in its past two games. The Panthers can’t afford to lose another game they are favored to win, because the schedule only gets tougher after that.

In terms of must-wins, this is the biggest they have faced this season.

“We’re not that far off,’’ Peppers said. “As bad as it may have looked [Sunday], three plays cost us this game. We feel OK.’’