Buccaneers Win 48-14 Over the Carolina Panthers
On Sunday, the Buccaneers posted another offensively dominant win. Going into the contest, there were some doubts about the state of the team. Last week’s loss vs the 7-9 Cowboys, along with a multitude of injuries had raised plenty of concern. But Tampa put these concerns to rest for the time being with this electric win.
Some of the key players from this matchup included Bucky Irving, with not only 113 rushing yards, but 77 yards receiving as well. Mike Evans with another strong performance, notching 97 yards receiving, on top of 2 touchdowns. This brings his total to 915 yards on the season, meaning he only needs 85 more to reach his 11th straight 1,000-yard season. Last but not least, Baker Mayfield had one of the best performances of his career, finishing with 359 passing yards, 5 touchdowns, and only 5 incompletions. It is also worth noting Baker had no turnovers, a topic of concern among many as of late.
The DUCKaneers
Finally, you cannot talk about this game without mentioning the lucky duck. A duck flew down onto the field during a Panthers Punt midway through the 3rd quarter, right next to the return man Trey Palmer. The Buccaneers ended up blocking this punt, with J.J. Russell returning it for a touchdown. All while the Duck was still on the field. After this play, the Duck was safely removed from the field and let outside the stadium.
The duck quickly turned into a fan-favorite, breaking out chants, and was all over social media. Possibly a goodluck charm for the team going into the playoffs.
Commanders Hand Falcons Overtime Loss, Gifting Buccaneers First Place in the NFC South.
As Baker Mayfield said, “Big Jayden Daniels fan tonight,” and Daniels without a doubt did his part. Daniels and the Commanders beat the Falcons in a thrilling Sunday Night Football matchup 30-24. This loss pushed the Falcons back to 8-8 on the season, therefore making the NFC South once again the Bucs to lose. If the Bucs beat the Saints in their week-18 matchup they will win the NFC South. However, if the Buccaneers lose, they would need a loss from the Falcons to still win the division. Nonetheless, a loss to the 5-11 Saints would not be a promising way to enter the playoffs.
Buccaneers Outlook:
As previously mentioned, all the Bucs must do to secure a playoff berth is win at home vs the Saints. The Saints have had quite the underwhelming season after a hot start. They are currently on a 3-game losing streak, meaning this should be a relatively easy matchup for Tampa. However, we have seen many teams before fall into this ‘trap’ game… already preparing for playoffs, as opposed to the week at hand. Especially in this case against a division opponent. Tampa must focus on getting the win this week before looking ahead to the playoffs.
So, barring a collapse, the Buccaneers should be your 2024 NFC South champions, and secure a playoff spot.
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