The stars came out for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense on Sunday and results were a 48-14 blowout win over the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium in the penultimate weekend of the season.

Baker Mayfield led the way with one of the finest performances of his career. He tied a career single-game high with five touchdown passes, and threw exactly as many scoring tosses as he did incompletions. With 359 yards on 27-of-32 passing and no interceptions, Mayfield compiled a 153.0 passer rating, the second best of his career in a single game. In the process, he pushed his 2024 totals to 4,279 passing yards and 39 touchdown passes, both career highs. Mayfield led the Bucs' offense to scores on each of its first five drives and seven of eight overall before being replaced by Kyle Trask for the team's final possession.

"He really played a heck of a ballgame, intelligently," said Head Coach Todd Bowles of Mayfield. "We didn't turn it over offensively, we were very good on third down and he controlled the ball, spread it around, got everybody touches and he played a good ballgame."

With the win the Buccaneers improved to 9-7 and removed any immediate concern of being eliminated from the NFC South title race. Tampa Bay, which is seeking its fourth straight division title, could move back into first if Atlanta loses at Washington on Sunday to drop to 8-8. If Atlanta beats Washington, the Buccaneers could still win the division with a Week 18 victory over New Orleans coupled with a Falcons loss at home to the Panthers. The Bucs guaranteed a winning record with Sunday's results but Bowles and company have their eyes on a bigger prize.

"We're just trying to get to the playoffs," said Bowles. "If we can win next week and get a little help, that would mean a lot to me."

Rookie RB Bucky Irving started the game in a two-back set with Rachaad White and got the first five handoffs of the game as Bowles and Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen sought to get him off to a fast start. It worked, as Irving produced 113 yards on 20 carries, his third 100-yard game of the season, and a season-high 190 yards from scrimmage. Irving, a former Oregon Duck, heard "Bucky" chants from the home game early, though that humorously morphed into "Ducky" chants when a duck wandered onto the field and had to be ushered off.

Irving surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark during the game, becoming the first Buccaneer to do so since Doug Martin in 2015 and the first Bucs rookie to achieve the feat since Martin in 2012.

"We knew that we were going to start him starting this ballgame," said Bowles. "He knew that and everyone else knew it, so we thought we'd try to get him off to a fast start. We let him go and he did a good job for us. He's been playing great as he got the offensive system down. The play speaks for itself. Rachaad's a very good back but he was playing better."

Mayfield's favorite target, as usual was WR Mike Evans, who caught eight passes on nine targets for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Evans now has 915 receiving yards on the season and needs 85 more in the season finale against New Orleans next weekend to eclipse 1,000 for the 11th time in as many seasons. He already holds the NFL record for most such campaigns to start a career and would tie Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for the longest streak ever. Evans' two touchdown catches pushed his career total to 105, just six behind Tony Gonzalez for eight place in NFL history.

"Obviously, Mike's a huge part of this offense, and the record is pretty important for us to get – for him to achieve it but for us to make sure it happens. Having it right there in front of us, not having to force things, obviously when he's in the game he's a huge part of that and he creates explosive plays in the passing game. Looking forward to seeing what happens next week.

Meanwhile, the rookie McMillan continued to emerge as a dangerous number-two option in the absence of Chris Godwin. He caught five passes for 51 yards and found the end zone for the fourth game in a row. He hauled in scoring passes of 10 yards in the second quarter and 16 in the fourth to give him six touchdowns over that four-game span. The Bucs' fifth touchdown of the night was the first of second-year TE Payne Durham's career; with starter Cade Otton out with a knee injury, Durham and rookie Devin Culp combined to give the Bucs five catches for 88 yards.

"It's great to see [McMillan] in the second half of the season, really coming around, coming into his own, playing very confident right now," said Bowles. "He's doing everything right and he's reaping a lot of the benefits. He competes. He just loves playing ball; that's what you like about him."

Overall, the Buccaneers rang up 551 yards of total offense, marking the third time this season they have surpassed 500 in a game. That is tied for the second-most such outings in a single season in league history, just one behind the 2020 Dallas Cowboys, who had four 500-yard games. The Buccaneers ran for 202 yards and have now surpassed 130 yards on the ground in six consecutive games. They have averaged 184.0 rushing yards per game in that span, all coming after the team's Week 11 bye.

"It starts with the guys up front," said Mayfield. "I thought they protected extremely well, and then obviously our pass schemes, we had some guys running pretty open. It comes down to the [coaching] staff and guys making plays. Everybody was detailed. Obviously, we'd like to have a few more touchdowns in the first half and not settle for field goals, but guys were on point."

Tampa Bay played complementary football, particularly in the second half. While a couple of coverage busts allowed quarterback Bryce Young to throw a pair of touchdown passes to Adam Thielen, Young was also sacked five times and Carolina did not score in the second half. The Bucs' five sacks came from five different players: Yaya Diaby, Logan Hall, Anthony Nelson, Calijah Kancey and yet another productive rookie, Chris Braswell. Carolina was held to 204 total yards of offense, 13 first downs and two third-down conversions in nine attempts. After placing breakout RB Chuba Hubbard on injured reserve on Saturday, the Panthers mustered just 39 yards on 13 carries, marking the third straight team Tampa Bay's defense has held below 40 rushing yards.

While neither team committed a turnover in the game, the Buccaneers' special teams did come up with a big play. The Bucs surpassed 40 points for the third time this season late in the third quarter when OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka blocked a Johnny Hekker punt and LB J.J. Russell scooped it up and dashed to the end zone for his first career touchdown. It was the first blocked punt by Tampa Bay since Patrick O'Connor got one at Denver on September 27, 2020, and it was the team's first touchdown off a punt since Adam Hayward took one back 29 yards against San Diego on Nov. 12, 2012.

Tampa Bay's offense was nearly unstoppable in the first half, scoring on each of its first five drives and rolling up 337 yards and 20 first downs. It was the most first-half yards for the team since a 410-yard outburst in a 47-7 win at Detroit on December 26, 2020. Mayfield completed 16 of his 20 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns and Irving had 137 yards from scrimmage before the intermission. Despite that, the Buccaneers didn't quite pull away from the visitors, as Young threw a pair of touchdown passes to Thielen, the second one on a 21-second drive in the final 1:11 of the half.

The Buccaneers can now settle in and watch the Sunday night game in Washington if they so choose, but they will soon turn their attention to their final regular season opponent, the Saints. For his part, Irving said he didn't plan to watch how the Falcons' fortunes unfold in the evening.

"I'm not going to watch it," said Irving. "I'll wake up and see what happens in the morning."

The Bucs got the ball to open the game at their own 30 after an opening touchback, started with two backs in the backfield and handed off to Irving on a veer left for six yards. Irving got 10 more up the gut on second down for the game's initial first down. Mayfield's first was out to Evans on the right sideline, good for nine yards to move the ball into Panthers territory. Irving hesitated for a moment on his next carry, then cut to the outside and got around the edge for 12 more to the Carolina 33. Baker then enjoyed a solid pocket on his next dropback, giving him time to find Durham down the middle for a pickup of 31 to the two-yard line. On first-and-goal, Evans started towards the sideline then cut back towards the middle to get wide open for Mayfield's two-yard touchdown pass.

Carolina got off to a good start, as well, with Raheem Blackshear's five-yard run followed by a deep ball down the left sideline to Thielen, who made a one-armed catch to get 31 to the Bucs' 34. Two plays later, the Bucs brought a delayed blitz but Young still got the pass off to WR Jalen Coker for a gain of 15. Two snaps later, Young found Thielen in a hole in the zone for a 17-yard touchdown.

Panthers kicker executed the best type of kickoff under the new rules, as it hit the ground in the landing zone and then bounced over Rakim Jarrett's head and out of the end zone for a touchback at the 20. Mayfield gave the Bucs some breathing room right away by hitting Evans down the right numbers for a pickup of 20. A screen to Irving worked well on the next play (technically ruled a run due to a backward pass) but it left the Bucs inches shy of the first down line. Irving powered over left guard for enough to move the sticks, and Culp then hauled in his first career reception for 26. Tampa Bay's first unsuccessful offensive play was a four-yard loss by Irving when he was met head-one by CB Mike Jackson just as he got the ball. Two plays later, Mayfield moved the chains again with a 17-yard strike to Culp down the middle, once again putting the ball at the two. Irving's first and second-down runs didn't work, losing a total of one yard, and Baker was sacked at the five-yard line on third down after not finding anyone open and trying to scramble. K Chase McLaughlin came on to hit a 24-yard field goal.

After a touchback, Young took off running on first down but was tripped up from behind by OLB Yaya Diaby after gaining just one yard. After CB Jamel Dean broke up a pass to WR Xavier Legette on the left sideline, Kancey ended the drive and the first quarter with a 10-yard sack. After the switching of sides, Johnny Hekker punted the ball down to the Bucs' 39.

Evans spun away from a defender for a gain of six on the second play of the ensuing drive, and Irving converted on third-and-two with a run around right end. Mayfield faked a handoff on the next play and rolled right before hitting WR Rakim Jarrett for another first down at the Carolina 39, and a pass over the middle to RB Sean Tucker got five. Rookie WR Kameron Johnson, just back from a long stint on IR, took an end-around pitch to the left and darted upfield for 11 more, with a five-yard penalty tacked on the end to put it at the 18. Mayfield's first incompletion of the game was an overthrow meant for Ryan Miller. Two plays later, on third-and-eight, Baker moved around to buy time but couldn't fit the ball in to Culp near the goal line, leading to another McLaughlin field goal try. He hit this one, too, from 34 yards to increase the Bucs' lead to 13-7.

After another touchback, Young scrambled right and eventually threw very deep to Legette but the ball was just out of reach. He was hurried in a throw into the dirt on second down, and a sideline pass to RB Mike Boone went through his hands on third-and-10, leading to a 51-yard punt that went out of bounds at the Bucs' 19.

Tucker started the drive with a four-yard rumble up the middle, then Irving took over. After finding a lane on a sweep right to dash for 34 yards, he took a screen pass left and zipped through the Carolina defense into the open field. Irving dived at the pylon but was ruled down at the one so Mayfield simply threw it to Evans in the end zone again, and this time it was one of his patented fade routes. The extra point gave the Bucs a 20-7 lead with eight minutes left in the first half.

McLaughlin's next kickoff was returned but Velus Jones was dropped at the 25 by LB Deion Jones. DL Logan Hall bottled Blackshear up after a gain of just three, and the Bucs completely stonewalled an attempted end-around by Jones for no gain. On third-and-seven, Young tried another improvised deep ball to Legette but this one was broken up by CB Zyon McCollum. Hekker's next punt was downed at the Bucs' 36.

Two plays into the ensuing drive, A'Shawn slid into Mayfield's feet and flipped him over, leading to a 15-yard roughing the passer flag, which put the ball one yard into Carolina territory. A holding call on rookie C Graham Barton moved the ball back across the midfield stripe, and Mayfield was then pulled down by OLB Jadeveon Clowney for an eight-yard sack. Clowney jumped offside on the next play so Mayfield knew he could rip one downfield and he hit Miller for a gain of 23. Mayfield moved the chains on third-and-four with a simple quick slant to Evans to the Panthers' 33. Evans almost made an acrobatic one-handed catch of a downfield pass that got on him as he was spinning around, but he couldn't haul it in. Two Irving runs moved the sticks again, and he got nine more on the next snap to bring on the two-minute warning. After the break, Rachaad White came on to take the next handoff and got three up the middle to the 10-yard line, and on the next play Mayfield pump-faked to two different receivers before finding McMillan in the back middle of the end zone for the 10-yard score.

The Panthers had 1:11 to work with when they got the ball back and got to the Bucs' 40 on a third-down play that combined a 10-yard catch by Legette with a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty on DL Vita Vea. On the next snap, Young went up top for a 40-yard touchdown pass to Thielen to complete a 21-second drive.

That meant the Bucs got the ball back one more time after a bouncing kickoff that Jarrett had to field, only getting back to the 17. It went back to the 12 on a false start, and Miller then dropped a short pass over the middle. Miller caught the next one for three yards and the Panthers used their first timeout with 36 seconds left in the half. Mayfield had to scramble out of trouble on third down and he did hit Culp but three yards short of the first down. After a second Carolina timeout, Jack Browning's punt was fair caught at the Panthers' 24 with 20 seconds left. A 17-yard catch by Moore led to the Panthers' final timeout with 15 seconds remaining. Young hit Thielen for 19 more down to the Bucs' 35 and sent the field goal unit out to try a 53-yarder with three seconds to go. Eddy Pineiro hooked it wide to the left to keep the Bucs' lead at 13.

The Panthers started the second half with the ball after a touchback. S Tykee Smith tripped Blackshear up for a loss of two on the first play but Young then found Coker in a soft spot in the zone and hit him for a gain of 20. The Panthers had to burn a timeout before their next snap, and Diaby then chased Young down for a sack of 10 yards. Young slipped while trying to scramble and was easy pickings for Nelson and a four-yard sack. The Panthers chose to run on third-and-24 and Blackshear got eight back to the Panthers' 42. Trey Palmer fielded a bouncing kick at the seven and lost a yard back to the six.

Irving's first down run gained nothing but McMillan made a sliding catch for nine yards on the next snap. The Bucs let McMillan complete the set of downs, giving it to him on an end-around that was good for another nine. Mayfield then looked deep to Evans on a post to the middle of the field, hitting for 34. Irving got 16 on a short pass out to the left, taking it down to Carolina's 26. After a six-yard Irving run, Jarrett was flagged for lining up offside, making it second-and-nine. Mayfield got that and six more on a strike to McMillan at the 10. An outlet pass to Irving was good for four on first-and-goal, and a play-action pass to McMillan got just one more. On third-and-goal, three Falcon defenders were drawn to Culp near the goal line and Mayfield lobbed it over all of them to a wide-open Durham in the back of the end zone.

After another touchback, Young twice pressed it downfield but both were incomplete. On third-and-10, Young was hurried into a pass to no one in particular and the Panthers sent out the punting unit. The Bucs came up with a big special teams play, as Tryon-Shoyinka blocked the kick and Russell picked up the ball, got past one would-be tackler and sprinted 23 yards to the end zone.

The Panthers got the ball back after a touchback and got one first down on two Boone runs. Young hit Legette for a gain of three but was heavily pressured on the next two snaps and threw incomplete. Carolina left the offense on the field for fourth-and-seven at the Carolina 44, but after a false start made it fourth-and-12 the punting unit came out.

Hekker's punt pushed the ball back to the Bucs' 15 but the offense took it close to midfield on the next two plays. First Mayfield hit Evans on a crossing route for 15, then White used second and third efforts to blast up the middle for 16. Two plays later, Mayfield surveyed the field for a while before swinging it out to Irving, who tiptoed down the sideline for 15 yards to the Carolina 26. Two plays later, Irving weaved through the defense for 12 yards to the 24 to bring the third quarter to a close.

After flipping the field, the Buccaneers got four yards on a dumpoff pass to White but lost one on White's run to the right. On third-and-seven, Mayfield hit Evans just short of the sticks but the Bucs chose to accept an offsides penalty to make it third-and-two at the 16. Mayfield found McMillan open in the left flat and the rookie ran through a tunnel of defenders for his second touchdown of the game.

Young got a first down on the Panthers' next drive with a seven-yard scramble on third-and-six, then another one on two five-yard connections with Legette. After another first down got the ball to the Bucs' 38, Young faced another third down, needing four yards, and Braswell got around right tackle to hit him and force a fumble. Blackshear fell on it to maintain possession but Hall dropped him on the next play for a turnover on downs.

Trask came in to finish the game and handed off to Tucker on the next five plays, a ploy that produced 23 yards and left the Bucs in third-and-one at the Carolina 29. White came back in for one play and converted the third down with a two-yard plunge. Tucker then got the call on the next two snaps for a total of 12 yards that brought on the two-minute warning. That was all the Bucs needed, as three Trask kneel-downs killed the final two minutes.