The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Carolina Panthers 9-0 and clinched the NFC South and a playoff berth in Week 18. In the defensive showdown, the Bucs outlasted their division foe for a third-straight division title.
The Buccaneers were forced to punt on their opening drive following a deep incompletion to Mike Evans down the right sideline. On the Panthers' first possession, the defense got a critical stop on third down, forcing a three-and-out. Bucs' rookie Yaya Diaby flew like a missile off the left edge, dropping Bryce Young for a loss of eight yards. Tampa Bay's following drive ended in the same way as the first – incompletion to Mike Evans. Evans ran a go route down the right sideline and Baker Mayfield let it rip. Evans was unable to hold onto the ball as two defenders closed, and the Bucs punted. Both Vita Vea and Devin White halted the Panthers' following drive, disrupting their run game. On second down, Vea clogged the middle and took down Chuba Hubbard for no gain. On third down, Devin White flew downhill, waited and quickly pivoted to the outside as Hubbard attempted to bounce outside the edge to the perimeter. He tackled Hubbard for a loss of three yards, setting up a Johnny Hekker punt.
Right before the start of the second quarter, the Bucs' drive was halted by a Yetur Gross-Matos sack on Mayfield for a loss of seven. Jake Camarda then punted 40 yards to the Carolina 30-yard line as Young and cast took over. Antoine Winfield Jr. made a sensational play on the Panthers' first drive of the second quarter to prevent a Panthers' score. On what appeared to be a D.J. Chark touchdown, Winfield produced a highlight-worthy play. He raced across the field and knocked the ball out, forcing a fumble before Chark could cross the goal line. Jamel Dean recovered the football in the end zone for a touchback, thrusting Mayfield and co. back on the field. Both teams then traded punts, with the Bucs' defense forcing another three-and-out. The Bucs then crossed midfield courtesy of a 20-yard Cade Otton gain but had to settle for a 36-yard Chase McLaughlin field goal. Tampa Bay led 6-0 heading into the half, as the unit converted just two of nine third-down attempts through the first two frames with 131 total net yards. The Bucs struggled to find continuity through the air or on the ground in the first two quarters, with Winfield serving as the catalyst.
The Bucs' defense forced a punt out of the half as Diaby stopped Hubbard short of the first on third-and-12. On the ensuing drive, Mayfield was sacked on second down as Derrick Brown came barreling through the line, dropping him for a loss of nine, which set up third-and-17. Winfield Jr. came up with a game-shifting play on third down. He shot downhill and took down Young for a loss of nine, which set up a Hekker 52-yard field goal attempt. The kick was wide left, keeping it a 6-0 score at Bank of America Stadium early in the fourth quarter.
Next, the Bucs put up a nine-play, 37-yard drive courtesy of a third-down scramble by Mayfield and a 21-yard run through the A-gap by Chase Edmonds. However, a third-down sack by Panthers' Brian Burns forced the Bucs to kick a field goal. McLaughlin's 39-yard field goal was good, extending the Bucs' lead 9-0. The Panthers followed suit with a march down the field. Young scrambled for a gain of 20 to the Tampa Bay 28-yard line and the subsequent Raheem Blackshear touchdown was nullified by an illegal formation penalty. The Bucs' defense then stepped up in dramatic fashion, as Joe Tryon-Shoyinka took down Young on a 10-yard sack and punched the ball out. Greg Gaines recovered the football for Tampa Bay at the 43-yard line to secure the victory.
