The Tampa Bay Buccaneers clinched their third straight NFC South title on Sunday with a road win over the Carolina Panthers, and they did so in stunning fashion, with their first shutout in 13 years. After the 9-0 victory that sent the Buccaneers to the playoffs in a fourth straight season, Head Coach Todd Bowles revealed that, while there were certainly some players deserving of specific attention, he had given every player on the team a Game Ball.
That was a fitting way to reward a team that had fought so hard and so relentlessly to defy expectations and win another title. It was not, however, particularly helpful to me or Staff Writer/Reporter Brianna Dix. Why? Well, after each Buccaneer victory the two of us are tasked with determining one winner of our (fictional) Game Ball award. We each nominate one player, and those two are then included in a list of four candidates, with the final decision up to you, the fans. After you review the cases we make for two of those players, you will find a link at the bottom of the page to cast your ballot.
Since we can't duplicate votes and getting the first pick can be important in some weeks, we are alternating the order of our choices from win to win. Bri gets to go first this week. So, who should get this week's Game Ball? Here are our suggestions:
Brianna Dix: S Antoine Winfield Jr.
Bucs' safety Antoine Winfield Jr. has played out of his mind in 2023 and on Sunday against the Panthers in a high-stakes division matchup, he continued the stellar trend. He single-handedly prevented a touchdown in the second quarter. He raced across the field and dove to knock the ball out of D.J. Chark's hands as he reached out to cross the pylon. The ball came loose, and Jamel Dean recovered the football in the end zone for a touchback. In the third quarter, Winfield's sack of Bryce Young forced a 52-yard Panthers' field goal attempt – which ended up being wide to the left. Winfield proved that he is in the upper echelon at the position, finishing the game with five tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and one tackle for loss.
Winfield concluded the regular season with 122 tackles, 6.0 sacks, six forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, three interceptions and a team-best 12 passes defensed. To the dismay and outrage of many, Winfield was surprisingly left off the Pro Bowl roster, which only fueled the fire against the Panthers. He has been a nightmare for offensive coordinators to contend with in 2023, as opponents have been forced to dial up protection schemes around where Winfield is lined up. The do-it-all defensive phenom for Tampa Bay is a multi-faceted playmaker, whether blitzing, manning the post to prevent the big play over the top, dropping into the box to disrupt the run, or in man coverage. He consistently made splash plays for the Buccaneers on Sunday that spearheaded the victory and kept Carolina off the scoreboard. The Pro Bowl may have made an egregious miss on Winfield Jr., but he definitely deserves his flowers in the form of a first-team All-Pro nod and a game ball honor.
Scott, who is your nominee?
Scott Smith: K Chase McLaughlin
Hey, you know how you win football games? By scoring more points than your opposition. Do you know who was the only player in Sunday's game at Bank of America Stadium to score? Chase McLaughlin. Do you know who McLaughlin plays for? That would be the Buccaneers, who used his nine points and a smothering defensive effort to clinch the NFC South.
Let's divorce ourselves from the stats for a moment and go into our feels instead. I want you to think back to the second quarter on Sunday, just before halftime. The Bucs got the ball to the Carolina 33 with 19 seconds and one timeout left. From there, the offense flamed out. A shotgun handoff to Chase Edmonds lost six yards and Baker Mayfield's next two passes were incomplete. What had looked like, at worst, a 51-yard field goal try was now a 57-yarder. Now, how did you feel when McLaughlin trotted out on the field and lined up for his kick?
If your like me, you were confident to the point of being delusional. It's easy to understand why. Between field goals and extra point attempts (which are now the equivalent of 33-yard field goals), McLaughlin made 62 of his 64 kicks during the 2023 season, and the two he missed were blocks. He tried three times from 57 yards out and twice from 55, and made them all. With apologies to Mayfield, did the Buccaneers make a better free agency decision in 2023 than signing McLaughlin.
It was a bit chilly in Charlotte on Sunday, but that was no problem for McLaughlin, who apparently has ice water in his veins. We don't celebrate kickers often, and I'll admit Winfield's latest heroics are hard to ignore, but let's make this the one time we recognize what the man with one very specific job means to this division-winning Buccaneers team.
Who deserves the Game Ball for the Bucs' big win in Charlotte? Click here to cast your vote.
