The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have kept their dreams of reaching the playoffs alive after taking down the Carolina Panthers in Week 17, 48-14.
It was a dominant day for Baker Mayfield through the air as he tied a Buccaneers franchise record with five passing touchdowns. The veteran quarterback led the Buccaneers to scoring drives on their first five possessions on the afternoon. That helped form a solid cushion over Carolina in the first half, but Bryce Young and Co. did hang around over the first two quarters, thanks to two touchdown throws to wideout Adam Thielen.
While the Bucs held a 27-14 lead at halftime, the third quarter was where Tampa Bay truly started to blow out the Panthers. It 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 had his way with this Carolina run defense, with 113 yards on the ground on 20 carries. Mike Evans, who entered Sunday with 818 yards receiving on the season, is within range of yet another 1,000-yard season after finishing with 97 yards on eight catches to go with two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Mayfield finished his day with 359 yards passing to go with those five passing touchdowns as he completed 27 of his 32 pass attempts.
On the Carolina side, Bryce Young had 204 yards through the air and two touchdowns. Adam Thielen was his go-to target in the loss, catching five passes for 110 yards and two scores.
The Buccaneers needed to win this game in order to keep themselves in playoff contention. On top of winning in Week 18, Tampa Bay will need the Falcons to lose one of their two remaining regular-season games to win the NFC South. Meanwhile, if the Commanders — who face Atlanta on Sunday night — lose out, the Bucs could sneak into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the wild-card bracket.
Why the Buccaneers won
Baker Mayfield wouldn’t and couldn’t be denied. The veteran quarterback could do essentially whatever he wanted in Week 17, throwing just five incompletions on the day. Just one of those came in the second half. He was the key catalyst in the Bucs piling up 551 yards of total offense on the afternoon, which helped them dominate time of possession, 41:11 to 18:49. The Tampa Bay offense was surgical 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 defense as well, forcing Carolina into a pass-first game script. That allowed the pass rusher to tee off on Bryce Young for four second-half sacks. Of course, they also got some assistance in the scoring department from the special team unit (which you can read more about below).
Why the Panthers lost
The Panthers initially held their own as Bryce Young matched the Bucs opening drive touchdown with one of his own. However, the Carolina offense went silent after that, with three-straight three-and-outs that stretched most of the first half. Young was able to connect with Adam 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 didn’t register a single point.
As has been the case throughout the season, stopping the run was a massive problem for the Panthers. Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving was an unstoppable force throughout the afternoon, rushing for 113 yards on 20 carries (5.7 yards per attempt). The defense also struggled mightily to get off the field on third down, allowing Tampa Bay to convert 10 of its 14 attempts.
Yes, the Bucs had a pretty commanding lead in this game at the half, but the third quarter was where they truly put their foot down. They went on a 14-0 run during the quarter and had a blocked punt returned for a touchdown that took all the air out of Carolina. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka swooped in to block the punt, and then it was J.J. Russell who scooped it up and returned it 23 yards for the score.
This was the Buccaneers first blocked punt returned for a touchdown since 2012, per CBS Research.
Baker Mayfield’s second-quarter touchdown pass to Jalen McMillan might seem like an innocuous, run-of-the-mill passing score. However, it’s the perfect example of how dialed in the Buccaneers quarterback was on the day. Mayfield’s first read on the play appeared to be tight end Payne Durham. When that was bottled up, he then shifted his eyes all across the field to his other reads before coming back over the middle to hit McMillan for the score. That’s textbook quarterback play when it comes to going through your progressions, so it’s no surprise to see Mayfield light it up.
What’s next
From here, the Buccaneers will host the New Orleans Saints in the regular-season finale. Meanwhile, the Panthers will wrap up the year in Atlanta, where they’ll take on the Falcons.
