On a rainy evening at Raymond James Stadium, the Buccaneers were able to impose their will on the ground en route to a 16-14 victory over the Panthers to keep their playoff hopes alive. In order to lock up the division, the Bucs need a win by the Saints in Atlanta on Sunday afternoon to secure their fifth straight NFC South crown. Tampa Bay was able to take advantage of the Panthers' use of a two-high shell with condensed splits, effective zone and duo runs, along with darts in the short-to-intermediate area off play-action.
Offensive Rundown
Tampa Bay marched down the field on its opening drive and scored a touchdown. A 13-yard gain by Mike Evans on an out route from a two-way go, a dirty run for Bucky Irving off duo and a 10-yard gain by Cade Otton versus the Panthers' fire zone set up the 18-yard touchdown to Otton off the seam route. Tampa Bay was able to establish the run, providing the Bucs with an early 7-0 lead. The rest of the Bucs' points came off three Chase McLaughlin field goals. The Bucs had a nine-point cushion at Carolina's 20-yard line with five minutes left in regulation but a blocked field goal attempt by McLaughlin and a 40-yard completion to Tetairoa McMillan allowed the Panthers a chance to make a comeback bid on Jalen Coker's ensuing eight-yard contested touchdown catch. McMillan jabbed to the outside and quickly worked over the top, accelerating on the vertical route against the isolated defender. The Buccaneers needed to drain the clock and a rollout 20-yard pass from Mayfield to Otton on third-and-four punctuated the win for Tampa Bay.
Otton became the offensive catalyst, catching a team-high seven passes for a season-high 94 yards and Tampa Bay's lone touchdown. He became a go-to target for Mayfield, encapsulated by the Madden-esque side-arm throw to 88 to get the first down in the second quarter. Overall, Mayfield completed 16 of 22 passes for 203 yards, one touchdown, one interception and a 97.3 passer rating. He scrambled four times for 31 yards to obtain critical first downs. The Bucs were able to move the point of attack in the ground game, which Bucky Irving up for 85 yards on 26 carries.
Defensive Outlook
Carolina trimmed the deficit to three points in the second quarter on a 19-yard drive off the Bucs' lone turnover. The Panthers' Christian Rozeboom picked off Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay territory. He worked underneath on the in-breaker in the club's cloud coverage. Young and the Panthers capitalized with a three-play drive that culminated in an eight-yard scoring toss to Tommy Tremble. The Bucs did tacked on a field goal (36-yarder) before halftime following an interception by Jacob Parrish. Parrish controlled his back pedal and made an outstanding break on the football, jumping up to snag the catch away from McMillan.
Tampa Bay's defensive front, which included Calijah Kancey's return from a 14-game absence, won the battle in the trenches and held the Panthers to 19 yards on 14 totes. The Bucs won the turnover battle, 3-1, and held the Panthers to 1-of-eight on third down. Carolina had a shot to cut Tampa Bay's lead early in the fourth quarter but the drive was halted on a Rico Dowdle fumble that was recovered by Lavonte David at the Buccaneers' 24-yard line with 11 minutes left. David took advantage of the Panthers' botched flea flicker and jumped on the loose ball. In recording six tackles on the night, David tied Pro Football Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks for sixth place all-time in tackles recorded by StatsPass with 1,714.
The Bucs yielded just 16 first downs to Carolina on Saturday, their third-fewest allowed in a single game this season. Tampa Bay allowed the Panthers to gain just one rushing first down on the day, its fewest allowed in a game this season and fewest since Week 15 of the 2024 season against the Los Angeles Chargers.
