The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came out of their Week 11 bye hoping to shake off a slump and engineer the type of stretch-run hot streaks that led to playoff berths in 2020 and 2023. So far, so good.
The Buccaneers' dramatic 26-23 overtime win over the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte in Week 13 was their second in a row since the bye, and it allowed them to pull into a tie with the 6-6 Atlanta Falcons atop the NFC South. The Buccaneers are seeking their fourth straight division title but must overcome a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Falcons, who swept the season series.
The next obstacle in the Bucs' efforts to run as much of the table as possible is the Las Vegas Raiders, who visit in Week 14 on the heels of an eight-game losing streak. That tough run was extended on Friday afternoon when the Raiders dropped a 19-17 decision to the one-loss Kansas City Chiefs when a botched snap resulted in a lost fumble before they could attempt a go-ahead field goal at the end of regulation.
The Raiders have had a bit of a quarterback carousel in 2024, with offseason addition Gardner Minshew winning a training camp battle over second-year player Aidan O'Connell. Minshew was eventually benched for O'Connell before the latter passer landed on injured reserve, but now it is Minshew who is out for the rest of the season with an injury of his own. O'Connell and former Falcon Desmond Ridder have split time since, with O'Connell starting the last two games.
The Buccaneers win over Carolina was their first in an overtime game in over two years, and it followed two other overtime road losses this season, to the Falcons and Chiefs. The Bucs' resiliency in Carolina, which included a game-tying field goal drive in the final seconds of regulation, is a confidence-booster for a team that knows it has very little margin for error the rest of the way.
