It was quite clear who had something to play for and who was going to clean out their lockers next Monday. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7) emphatically kept their dreams of making the playoffs alive after trouncing the Carolina Panthers in their Week 17 divisional matchup, 48-14.
“We’re just trying to get to the playoffs,” coach Todd Bowles said, shrugging off a question about how Sunday’s win ensured a winning record in the regular season.
“If we can win next week and get a little help,” Bowles added, “that will mean a lot to me.”
It was a outstanding day for Baker Mayfield through the air as he tied a Buccaneers franchise record with five passing touchdowns along with Tom Brady, who won a Super Bowl with the team in 2020. The seven-year veteran quarterback and former No. 1 overall pick, led the Buccaneers to scoring drives on their first five possessions on the afternoon. That helped form a nice lead over the Panthers in the first half, but Bryce Young and his teammates managed to stay somewhat close over the first two quarters, thanks to a pair of touchdown passes to wideout Adam Thielen.
“He really played a heck of a ball game intelligently,” Bowles said. “We didn’t turn it over offensively. We were very good on third down. He controlled the ball, spread it around, got everybody touches.”
While the Bucs held a comfortable 27-14 advantage at halftime, the third quarter was where Tampa Bay really put their foot on the gas pedal and started to separate themselves from the Panthers. They went on a 14-0 run over that stretch, which included linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka blocking a Carolina punt, which led to a scoop-and-score by fellow linebacker J.J. Russell.
Rookie running back Bucky Irving did anything he wanted to with the poor Carolina run defense, with 113 yards on the ground on 20 carries. Mike Evans, who came into Sunday’s game with 818 yards receiving on the season, is within shouting distance of yet another 1,000-yard season after finishing with 97 yards on eight receptions to go with two touchdowns. He has been the model of consistency through his 11-year career in the NFL. Mayfield wrapped up his day with 359 yards passing to go with those five passing touchdowns as he completed 27 of his 32 pass attempts.
“Any time you give him that many opportunities, good things are going to happen,” Mayfield said of Irving.
On the Carolina side of things, Young had 204 yards through the air, completed 15-0f-28 passes and two touchdowns. Thielen was his No. 1 target in the loss, catching five balls for 110 yards and two scores.
The Buccaneers where a more desperate team that had to have this game in order to keep themselves in playoff contention. Besides taking care of their own business and winning in Week 18, Tampa Bay will need the Atlanta Falcons to lose one of their two remaining regular-season games to win the NFC South crown. Meanwhile, if the Washington Commanders (1-5), who face Atlanta on Sunday Night Football at 8:20 ET, lose out, the Bucs could sneak into the backdoor of the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the wild-card bracket.
Embed from Getty ImagesMayfield refused to lose. The signal caller could do almost anything he wanted in Week 17, throwing a mere five incompletions on the day. Just one of those came in the second half. He was the driving force in the Bucs piling up 551 yards of total offense on the afternoon, which helped them dominate the all-important time of possession, 41:11 to 18:49. The Tampa Bay offense put on a master class throughout the day, scoring touchdowns on five of its eight red zone trips. As a team, they also controlled the ground game, rushing for 202 yards on a 5.1 yards per carry clip.
That explosion offensively made life easier for the Bucs defensive unit as well, forcing Carolina to be one-dimensional into a pass-first offense. That allowed the pass rusher to get home on Young for four second-half sacks. Of course, they also got some assistance in the scoring department from the special team unit.
The Panthers initially held their own as Young matched the Bucs opening drive touchdown with one of his own. However, the Carolina offense went ghost after that, with three-consecutive three-and-outs that lasted most of the first half. Young was able to find Thielen for a second touchdown just before halftime to keep the score respectable, but the unit again went silent over the final two quarters, where they did not come up with a single point.
“We got outplayed. … They were on fire today. They made it hard for us,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said.
“We have one more opportunity to finish,” Canales added, “so we have to regroup and have the discipline to go right back to work and finish on our terms.”
The Panthers were dealt a difficult blow and played without leading rusher Chuba Hubbard, who was placed on injured reserve Saturday. Without him in the backfield, the offense was almost totally dependent on second-year quarterback Young who tossed a pair of touchdown passes to Thielen.
As has been the case throughout the majority of the season, stopping the run was a huge problem for the Panthers. Buccaneers running back Irving was a terror throughout the afternoon, rushing for 113 yards on 20 carries (5.7 yards per attempt). The defense also failed to get off the field on critical third downs, allowing Tampa Bay to convert 10 of its 14 attempts.
Mayfield’s second-quarter touchdown pass to Jalen McMillan might seem like an inconsequential passing score. However, it was a classic example of how locked in the Buccaneers quarterback was on Sunday. Mayfield’s first read on the play appeared to be tight end Payne Durham. When that was unavailable to him, he then moved his eyes all across the field to other options before coming back over the middle to hit McMillan for the score. That was textbook quarterback play when it comes to going through your progressions, so it is no surprise to see Mayfield light it up.
From here, the Buccaneers will host the New Orleans Saints in the regular-season finale. Meanwhile, the Panthers will finish up their schedule in Atlanta, where they will take on the Falcons.