The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took care of business in Week 13 with a 21-18 home victory over the Carolina Panthers. Now they're headed out on another business trip in Week 14 with the goal of grabbing a share of first place in the NFC South.
The Buccaneers improved to 5-7 with the win against division-rival Carolina and remained just one game behind the 6-6 Atlanta Falcons with five games to go. The Falcons defeated the Bucs in Tampa in Week Seven and now Tampa Bay will seek revenge in Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday, December 10. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast by CBS.
"This is a playoff mentality for us," said quarterback Baker Mayfield after Sunday's win. "Coach Bowles said it last night: We have an eight-day window, including today, that we can be in first place in this division. Take care of business next week and see what happens the rest of the way. It's a one-game at a time mentality. Our guys came in ready to play and we found a way to win. It doesn't have to be pretty. A lot of things to correct, but we found a way to win.'
The Buccaneers and Panthers slogged through a very rainy afternoon and evening on Sunday, before Mike Evans gave the home team the jolt it needed with a 75-yard touchdown catch-and-run, the longest play of his career. Evans finished the game with 162 yards on seven catches, in the process surpassing 1,000 receiving yards for the 10th time in as many NFL seasons, extending his own league record. It was the second straight huge outing for Evans against the Panthers, as he helped the Bucs' clinch the division title in Week 17 last year with 209 yards and three scores, but he's also had a history of success against the Falcons. He has averaged 82.3 yards per game against Atlanta, with 11 total touchdowns, equaling his career-high mark against Carolina.
The Buccaneers will also try to continue a resurgence in their rushing attack, which has recorded its two best games of the season in the last two weeks. Against Carolina, the Bucs rushed for a season-high 128 yards and averaged 4.6 yards per carry. Atlanta's run defense came into the weekend ranked 16th in the league, giving up 112.0 yards per game.
All eyes will be on Tampa Bay's injury report in the week to come, as the team hopes for a return of at least some of the defensive quartet of Lavonte David, Devin White, SirVocea Dennis and Jamel Dean, all of whom missed Sunday's game against Carolina. The Bucs hope to be close to full strength against a Falcons attack that has produced the fourth-most rushing yards in the league, at 139.3 per outing.
