After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers avoided elimination with a crushing 16-14 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Saturday night, the NFC South winner will have a losing record and be crowned on TV.
The Bucs won on a rain-soaked Raymond James Stadium, with Baker Mayfield throwing a touchdown pass to Cade Otton and Chase McLaughlin kicking three field goals.
The New Orleans Saints (6-10) must beat or tie the Atlanta Falcons (7-9) on Sunday for the Buccaneers (8-9) to win their fifth straight NFC South title.
Leader in statistics:
Carolina Panthers:
Passing: Bryce Young, 24/35, 366 yards, 2 TDs, 1 rushing: Rico Doodle, 7 carries, 10 yards Receiving: Teitairoa McMillan, 4 catches, 85 yards
Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
Passing: Baker Mayfield, 16/22, 203 yards, 1 TD, 1 rushing: Bucky Irving, 26 carries, 85 yards receiving: Cade Otton, 7 catches, 94 yards, 1 TD
If the Falcons win, the Panthers (8-9) will clinch their first Division I championship since coach Ron Rivera and quarterback Cam Newton led the Panthers to a 15-1 record and a Super Bowl appearance 10 years ago.
The Buccaneers won a two-team tiebreaker against the Panthers. However, if Atlanta also finishes 8-9, Carolina will maintain a three-team tiebreaker with Tampa Bay.
Mayfield connected with Otton for an 18-yard TD pass, and the Bucs scored a touchdown on their third consecutive opening drive to take a 7-0 lead. It was Otton’s first TD of the season.
Trailing 10-0, the Panthers turned Christian Roseboom’s interception into a quick score. Roseboom returned the pick 20 yards to Tampa Bay’s 19. Young then completed an 8-yard TD pass to Tommy Tremble to make it 10-7.
Jacob Parrish picked off Young late in the second half, and the Buccaneers converted a 36-yard field goal from McLaughlin to take a 13-7 lead at halftime.
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 out with just over five minutes left, Carolina closed the gap to 16-14 on an 8-yard TD pass from Bryce Young to Jalen Coker with 2:27 left.
Mayfield threw a short pass to Otton for a 20-yard gain on third-and-four, extending Tampa Bay’s drive and giving them more time on the run. The Panthers got the ball back to the 3 with 18 seconds and no timeouts left. The game ended in a fumble due to a series of desperate lateral shots.
The Buccaneers were 0-8 in the past eight games in which Mayfield threw an interception before going against the No. 9 pick, but now his team has a chance to extend its season.
All eyes are now on both teams at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta to see who will win.
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