Buccaneers keep playoff hopes alive with win over Panthers

John Romano, Tampa Bay Times on Jan 3, 2026

Published in Football

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TAMPA, Fla. — So, the Tampa Bay Bucaneers survive to live another day. Or, perhaps a half day.

Tampa Bay hung on to beat the Carolina Panthers 16-14 in a miserable, rain-soaked afternoon Saturday to keep its hopes alive for a fifth consecutive NFC South championship. It could be for moot, however, if the Falcons beat the New Orleans Saints in Atlanta Sunday afternoon.

At this moment, the Bucs and Panthers are tied atop the division with identical 8-9 records, but Tampa Bay has the tiebreaker advantage. If the Falcons also finish 8-9, Carolina would win a three-way tiebreaker and Tampa Bay will miss the postseason for the first time since 2019.

The Bucs used a solid running game to control the ball and keep Carolina off the field for large chunks of the game.

They opened the door for the Panthers, however, when a missed field goal with 5:12 remaining put Carolina back on offense. Bryce Young hit Tetairoa McMillan for a 40-yard gain that set up a short touchdown pass with 2:27 left.

Baker Mayfield completed 16 of 22 passes for 203 yards and one touchdown while scrambling for 31 yards.

Play of the day

The game was in danger of getting away from the Bucs late in the second quarter. The Panthers had cut the lead to 10-7 and were in Tampa Bay territory when rookie cornerback Jacob Parrish cut in front of McMillan for his second interception of the season. The Bucs converted the turnover into a field goal and a 13-7 halftime lead.

Game ball

In what may be the final game of his career at Raymond James Stadium, Bucs linebacker Lavonte David came up with a critical fumble recovery in the fourth quarter. The Panthers had driven to the Tampa Bay 20 when they apparently attempted a flea-flicker pass. Running back Rico Dowdle lost his footing, however, when trying to lateral back to Young, and David busted through the line to recover the ball.

Keep an eye on

If the Saints come through for the Bucs on Sunday, it means one more week of fretting over Tampa Bay’s special teams. Place-kicker Chase McLaughlin has had a brilliant season on long field goals but has now had kicks blocked in consecutive games.

Playoff memories

There have been seasons when the Bucs were eliminated long before the season finale. There have been seasons when they had clinched a playoff berth before getting to the final week of the regular season. And, before Saturday, there have been nine seasons when the Bucs needed to win their final game to either clinch a postseason spot or at least stay alive while awaiting positive results elsewhere. In those previous nine seasons, the Bucs went 8-1 in those win-or-else games. Give the 2025 Bucs credit for keeping that clutch reputation alive, although it could all be meaningless in a matter of hours.

Up next

If the Saints fail to rescue the Bucs on Sunday, the next scheduled event is the 2026 draft. The Bucs began the day sitting at No. 13 in the draft order, and beating the Panthers won’t help. The worst-case scenario is Tampa Bay drops to No. 18 if the Saints lose and No. 19 if the Bucs clinch a playoff spot.

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