The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost control of their own playoff destiny in a Week 16 loss at Dallas on Sunday night, making their Week 17 homecoming an even more critical outing. The Buccaneers will play host to the 4-11 Carolina Panthers with no margin for error in the NFC South title race. Kickoff at Raymond James Stadium is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 29 and the game will be broadcast by CBS.
The Buccaneers loss to the Cowboys coupled with the Atlanta Falcons' home win over the New York Giants means both teams are 8-7 with two weeks to play, and that's a problem for Tampa Bay because the Falcons won both head-to-head games earlier in the season. Practically speaking, that means the Buccaneers have to win one more game than the Falcons over the final two weeks to capture their fourth straight division crown. While the Bucs host the Panthers, the Falcons will head to Washington to take on the Commanders.
The Buccaneers racked up another 411 yards in Dallas in prime time and had a chance to win the game late in the fourth quarter before a lost fumble by Rachaad White. The Bucs committed the only two turnovers of the game, both in the second half, to allow Dallas to hold onto the narrow win. Quarterback Baker Mayfield threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns and rookie running back Bucky Irving had another strong outing with 92 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown, but it ultimately wasn't enough.
Carolina is coming off an impressive 36-30 win over the Arizona Cardinals, in which quarterback Bryce Young threw for two touchdowns and no interceptions and breakout running back Chuba Hubbard ran for 152 yards and two scores. While that win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Panthers, only one of those losses was by more than six points. That includes a Buccaneers visit to Charlotte in Week 13 that needed a 51-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin to send the game into overtime before an Anthony Nelson forced fumble set up the game-winning score.
The Buccaneers have two home games remaining on their 2024 regular season schedule and likely need to win them both to make the playoffs for a fifth straight year. The Panthers will come to town trying to play spoiler.
