The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers both now face a nervy wait to find out if they will be in the NFL’s playoffs.
Baker Mayfield and his teammates got the job done on Saturday night, beating the Panthers 16-14 to keep their playoff hopes alive in the race for the NFC South title.
But the Buccaneers still need the Atlanta Falcons to lose to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday to win the division and secure their spot in next week’s Wild Card round.
However, if the Falcons manage to beat the Saints instead then the Panthers will progress to the playoffs as NFC South champions at the expense of the Buccaneers.
The Buccaneers hold a two-team tiebreaker over the Panthers. But Carolina holds the three-team tiebreaker over Tampa Bay if Atlanta also finishes 8-9.
Baker Mayfield threw a touchdown pass to Cade Otton and Chase McLaughlin kicked three field goals as the Buccaneers avoided elimination for now with a sloppy victory.
The Buccaneers were 0-8 in games where Mayfield threw an interception before overcoming his ninth pick in the last eight games.
After McLaughlin´s 38-yard field-goal try was blocked with just over five minutes remaining, Carolina got within 16-14 on Bryce Young´s eight-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Coker with 2:27 left.
Mayfield tossed a short pass to Otton for a 20-yard gain on third-and-four to extend Tampa Bay´s drive and run off more time.
The Panthers got the ball back at their 3 with 18 seconds and no timeouts left. The game ended on a desperate series of laterals that resulted in a fumble.
‘It’s in the hands of another game, and that’s not what we were hoping for, but there’s still hope,’ second-year coach Dave Canales said.
‘They’re still alive, and the locker room certainly is sick about a missed opportunity, but I can’t take anything away from the Bucs and the way they played today.’
Read more
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- Could the Buccaneers’ playoff dreams turn into a disaster as they await Sunday’s nail-biting showdown?
- With Baker Mayfield’s red-hot Week 4 performance, will he defy the odds and lead Tampa Bay past the Falcons in this thrilling NFC clash?
- How did Baker Mayfield’s astounding performance lead the Buccaneers to a jaw-dropping victory with his game-tying touchdown?
- How did the Falcons’ last-second heroics crush Buccaneers’ dream victory in a high-stakes thriller?
