The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 5-1 start and season-long claim on first place in the NFC South are officially distant memories. Since then, the Bucs are 1-6 and now looking up at division-leader Carolina after Sunday’s 23-20 loss to the Panthers in Charlotte.
It was the third straight defeat for the second-place Bucs, who were driving into Carolina territory for a tying or go-ahead score until Baker Mayfield threw an interception with 42 seconds left.
Tampa Bay (7-8) can still win the division for the fifth straight year, but the job has become more difficult with two games left on the schedule.
Carolina (8-7) could wrap up the NFC South next Sunday with a win over Seattle and a Tampa Bay loss at Miami. However, if the Bucs beat the Dolphins, the division would come down to a Week 18 rematch at Raymond James Stadium.
"We know where we're at right now," Mayfield said. "We've got to win out to win the division and get in the playoffs. It's as clear as it can be. Wish we would have taken care of business today, but the situation doesn't change. It sucks.”
The game essentially came down to the final drives of the fourth quarter.
Tied at 20, Tampa Bay rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka hauled in his first catch of the day, a 40-yard reception down the middle of the field, to get the Bucs to midfield. But the Panthers forced a Bucs punt, and Carolina took over at their 27 with 4:46 left.
On third-and-4, Bryce Young found Jalen Coker along the right sideline for a 34-yard reception to move the Panthers into field goal range. The Bucs’ defense held, and rookie Ryan Fitzgerald kicked a 48-yard field goal with 2:20 remaining to give Carolina the lead.
The ensuing kickoff hit inside the 5-yard line, but Tampa Bay’s Sean Tucker didn’t field the ball and allowed it to roll into the end zone for a touchback. Because the ball touched in the “landing zone,” the Bucs would have started at their 20.
However, Tampa Bay's John Bullock was flagged for unnecessary roughness, forcing the Bucs to start at their 10-yard line after referees marked off half-the-distance for the personal foul. TV replays showed Bullock headbutting a Panthers player.
Despite the poor field position, Baker Mayfield used a 26-yard run and three passes to Mike Evans to reach Carolina territory. However, on a second-and-9 pass at the Panthers’ 42, a pressured Mayfield threw downfield to Evans, who reversed his direction as the pass was released. Rookie safety Lathan Ransom made a sliding catch for the clinching interception.
“I was trying to find a lane to step through and make a throw to him,” Mayfield said. “(Evans) thought I was going to scramble, which based on some of the scrambles earlier to that, so you can’t blame him.”
Mayfield, who was 5-0 against the Panthers before Sunday, finished 18 of 26 for 145 yards with one TD pass to Evans on Tampa Bay's opening drive.
Tampa Bay’s Bucky Irving ran for 71 yards on 19 carries and Sean Tucker scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter that gave Tampa Bay a 17-13 lead.
“It's the execution that we're lacking and missing a few things here or there. We shot ourselves in the foot enough today to lose this ball game by three. And we understand that,” Bowles said after the Panthers’ game. “I think the guys are accountable, the coaches are accountable. We're going to load up, we're going to come back Monday and hopefully in two weeks we get a chance to see them again and play for something.”
Carolina took a 13-10 lead at the half when rookie receiver Tetairoa McMillan beat cornerback Jamel Dean for a 22-yard touchdown reception with 7 seconds remaining. The Bucs were blitzing, leaving Dean in man-to-man coverage. The Panthers had no timeouts.
"They got behind Dean before the half, which can't happen," said Bucs coach Todd Bowles. "No timeouts – they have to throw it inbounds and they have to throw it out of the end zone. He should have been back and made that play; he did not make it."
Panthers coach Dave Canales, the Bucs’ offensive coordinator in 2023, said his team's locker room is filled with “hope and belief” that the franchise can earn its first division title in a decade and snap a seven-year playoff drought. The Panthers lead the NFC South for the first time since 2021.
“Everything is right in front of us still,” Canales said. “To give ourselves a chance to play meaningful football at this time of the year, those guys have earned that. They have earned it because of the work they put in and being accountable to each other.”
Young, in his third year out of Alabama, threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns and extended several plays with his feet. Of Young's 14 wins as an NFL starter, 12 have come on game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime.
“We have the utmost confidence in Bryce,” said tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders, who caught a 6-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter after Young eluded three defenders in the pocket. “He isn't our quarterback for no reason. Everything he has gone through to get to this point today, the resilience and the mental toughness and the way he carries himself, it all plays a part in that.”
WUSF’s Rick Mayer contributed to this report.
