Buccaneers beat Panthers 16-14; NFC South title hinges on Saints-Falcons
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers kept their season alive by beating the Carolina Panthers 16-14 on Saturday. The NFC South championship will now be decided in the match to be played on Sunday between the Atlanta Falcons, who have been eliminated from the play-off fight for a long time, and the New Orleans Saints.
Carolina had a chance to clinch the division by beating Tampa Bay, but now the Panthers have to rely on the Falcons to beat the Saints in the tiebreaker to maintain the division lead.
If the Saints win, Tampa Bay will be in the division thanks to a tiebreaker.
The Buccaneers hope to capture their fifth straight division title, while the Panthers hope to capture their first division title since coach Ron Rivera and quarterback Cam Newton led them to a 15-1 record and a Super Bowl appearance since 2015. Every other team in the NFC South has won the division at least once since Carolina’s last division title.
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Lavonte David (54) of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates after a fumble recovery against the Carolina Panthers on January 3, 2026 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
Carolina’s hopes of clinching the championship on Saturday ended when Baker Mayfield threw a touchdown pass to Cade Otton and Chase McLaughlin threw three field goals to earn the two-point lead, leaving the Panthers with almost no time left on the game’s final series to win the game.
After McLaughlin’s 38-yard field goal attempt was blocked with just over five minutes left, Carolina pulled back to within 16-14 on Bryce Young’s 8-yard TD pass to Jalen Coker with 2:27 left.
Mayfield threw a short pass to Otton. 20 yard gain It’s third-and-4 to extend Tampa Bay’s drive and buy more time. The Panthers returned the ball to the 3-yard line with 18 seconds left and no timeout. The game ended with a desperate lateral series that resulted in a fumble.
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Bucky Irving (7) of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers runs with the ball against the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium on January 3, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
Mayfield connected with Otton on an 18-yard TD pass to take a 7-0 lead, and the Bucs scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the third straight game. It was Otton’s first TD of the season.
Trailing 10-0, the Panthers turned Christian Rozeboom’s interception into a quick score. Rozeboom returned the pick 20 yards to Tampa Bay’s 19 yards. Young then connected with Tommy Tremble on an 8-yard TD pass to cut the score to 10-7.
Jacob Parrish beat Young late in the second half, and the Buccaneers got a 36-yard field goal from McLaughlin to take a 13-7 halftime lead.
McLaughlin kicked a 48-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to extend Tampa Bay’s lead.
Carolina’s Ryan Fitzgerald missed a 54-yard touchdown pass on the first drive of the third quarter.
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Christian Izien (29) of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrates against the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium on January 3, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
Mayfield completed his first six passes before misfiring on a 13-yard crossover to Payne Durham, who was wide open in the end zone. The Bucs took a 10-0 lead on McLaughlin’s 29-yard field goal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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