The winner of the NFC South will have a losing record and be crowned while watching on television after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers avoided elimination with a sloppy 16-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Saturday night.
Baker Mayfield threw a touchdown pass to Cade Otton and Chase McLaughlin kicked three field goals as the Bucs prevailed at a rain-soaked at Raymond James Stadium.
The Buccaneers (8-9) now need the New Orleans Saints (6-10) to beat or tie with the Atlanta Falcons (7-9) on Sunday to clinch a fifth straight NFC South title.
Stats leaders:
Carolina Panthers:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
If the Falcons win, the Panthers (8-9) will secure their first division championship since coach Ron Rivera and quarterback Cam Newton led them to a 15-1 record and a Super Bowl appearance 10 years ago.
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.
Mayfield connected with Otton on an 18-yard TD pass for a 7-0 lead as the Bucs scored a touchdown on their opening drive for the third straight game. It was Otton's first TD of the season.
Down 10-0, the Panthers turned Christian Rozeboom's interception into a quick score. Rozeboom returned the pick 20 yards to Tampa Bay's 19. Young then connected with Tommy Tremble on an 8-yard TD pass to cut it to 10-7.
Jacob Parrish picked off 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 to extend Tampa Bay's lead.
After another McLaughlin field-goal try was blocked from 38 yards with just over five minutes remaining, Carolina got within 16-14 on Bryce Young's 8-yard TD pass to Jalen Coker with 2:27 left.
Mayfield tossed a short pass to Otton for a 20-yard gain on third-and-4 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.
The Buccaneers were 0-8 in games where Mayfield threw an interception before overcoming his ninth pick in the last eight games - but now his team has a chance to extend their season.
All eyes now, for both of these teams, turn to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta to see who will prevail.
Watch the 2025 NFL season live on Your Site, including every minute of the playoffs and Super Bowl LX; or .
