Buccaneers keep playoff hopes alive with 16-14 win against Panthers: Live updates and reaction
SOURCE:The Athletic|BY:The Athletic Live Team and more
Tampa Bay held off Carolina to pull even with the Panthers in the NFC South race
Tampa Bay held off Carolina to pull even with the Panthers in the NFC South race
The Athletic Live Team and more
January 3, 2026 at 8:00 PM EST
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Bucs edge Panthers
Tampa Bay stayed alive today in the NFC South race with a 16-14 win over Carolina.
Both teams finished the regular season 8-9, so the division race will come down to tomorrow’s Atlanta-New Orleans game. If the Falcons win, the Panthers take the division. If the Saints win, the Bucs win the division.
Playing in a rainstorm for most of the game, Baker Mayfield passed for 203 yards and one touchdown for Tampa Bay. Bryce Young threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns for Carolina.
The Panthers failed to clinch the NFC South for the second week in a row and now need help from the Falcons. The Panthers could have ended a 7-year playoff drought last week with a win against Seattle, and failed. They could sealed the division Saturday at Tampa, and couldn’t get it done. Now it’s out of their hands and will be determined by the Falcons and Saints. If Atlanta beats New Orleans on Sunday, the Panthers will back-door their way into the playoffs at 8-9 – and host a game next weekend in the wild-card round. If the Saints – who will be without Chris Olave and Alvin Kamara – knock off Atlanta, the Panthers’ playoff skid will reach eight years.
Canales cost Carolina
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One of the Panthers’ best drives of the game ended on a bad call – not by the officials, but by Dave Canales. Trailing 16-7, moved the Panthers into scoring position with four completions. But on first-and-10 at the Bucs’ 20, Canales called a head-scratching, flea flicker that was doomed when slipped after taking the handoff from Young. Dowdle still tried to flip the ball back to Young, but it landed at the quarterback’s feet and recovered for Tampa Bay. Canales, who called plays for the Bucs in 2022, will want that one back. Or should.
The rain stopped in the third quarter, but the flags came pouring down on Carolina. The Panthers had a pair of tough officiating calls go against them on their first two drives after halftime, allowing the Bucs to grab the momentum. An official blew an erroneous whistle on a backward pass to Rico Dowdle, blowing the play dead and resulting in a 7-yard loss and ultimately a missed 54-yard field goal by Ryan Fitzgerald. Later in the quarter, a 31-yard reception by Tetairoa McMillan was wiped out by a pass interference penalty on McMillan against cornerback Benjamin Morrison that ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky disagreed with on the telecast.
Young, not too bad
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Bryce Young is a popular topic of debate about the Carolina franchise. Some fans love him. Some fans want to move on from him.
I’m not sure how today’s game impacts that discussion. Young made some good throws, completing 24-of-35 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns with an interception.
But he also had some throws that were off target that should have been better. And maybe more importantly, he had some spots when he looked tentative when he could have taken some downfield shots.
Big day for Bucky
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Tampa Bay has three good backs in Bucky Irving, RachaadWhite and Sean Tucker, and all three can hurt opposing defenses. But it was clear today that Irving was the focus of the Bucs’ running game.
He had a game-high 26 carries and a game-high 85 yards. White had seven carries for 23 yards, and Tucker had four carries for minus-4 yards.
Bucs had better game plan
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It felt like the Tampa Bay offensive staff had a better game plan for the rain and conditions than the Carolina offensive staff. And I am not even talking about that awful flea-flicker call that cost the Panthers points.
Tampa Bay ran for 140 yards, while Carolina had just 19 yards rushing. And that was about committing to the run: Tampa Bay had 41 rushing attempts, while Carolina had just 14.
Bucky Irving led the Bucs with 26 carries, finishing with 85 yards.
Time for a road trip?
Dear Panthers fan, with half a tank of gas and a free Sunday afternoon, still lots of seats available in Mercedes-Benz Stadium on the secondary market. See you there.
QB comparison
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Baker Mayfield passed for 203 yards and one touchdown for Tampa Bay. Bryce Young threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns for Carolina.
Both quarterbacks threw one interception.
Bucs lean on Bucky
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From the outset, Tampa Bay made it a point of emphasis to get Bucky Irving the football in a messy, competitive, divisional game. The second-year running back saw his most carries of the season, rushing for 85 yards on 26 attempts, averaging just 3.3 yards per carry.
It was not a pretty game from the Buccaneers offense in any capacity but Irving did his job, providing physicality and ball security in an intense game.
Final team stats
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Total Yards
Panthers: 289
Bucs: 338
Passing Yards
Panthers: 270
Bucs: 198
Rushing Yards
Panthers: 19
Bucs: 140
First Downs
Panthers: 16
Bucs: 21
Turnovers
Panthers: 3
Bucs: 1
Possession Time
Panthers: 22:35
Bucs: 37:25
Bucs need Saints win Sunday
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Now Tampa Bay needs help. As the game halted for the two-minute warning two chants arose from the stands at Raymond James Stadium. “Who dat! Who dat!” and “Let’s go, Saints! Let’s go, Saints!” The Buccaneers now need the Saints to beat the Falcons on Sunday in Atlanta to give them the division and their ticket into the playoffs. Without an upset by New Orleans (3.5-point underdogs on Sunday), Saturday’s win will be for naught.
Bucs found a way
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It wasn’t pretty, but the Bucs got it done. Chalk this win up to sheer grit and determination. There were next to no explosive plays on offense. The defense even struggled to deliver a knockout punch. This Bucs team hasn’t been right for months now, but in this dire situation, they got it done. You had Baker Mayfield scrambling around for his life and making houdini escapes and passes, or tucking the ball and running and lowering his battered shoulders into defenders to pick up extra yards rather than slide short of the down marker. You had an offense grind out 140 total rushing yards to help control the clock on this soggy evening.
The defense recorded a couple of key takeaways but buckled while surrendering that Panthers fourth-quarter touchdown drive, but the unit did hang on just enough to deny the Panthers a last-second comeback drive. It’s debatable whether they have enough to muster any kind of a threat in the playoffs. Injuries have reduced this team to a shell of the version that we saw early in the season when Tampa looked like a Super Bowl contender. And Todd Bowles and his staff have struggled to come up with answers on either side of the ball. But Saturday night, the Bucs players showed they haven’t given up on each other or their coach and managed to stop their four-game losing streak and grasp a flicker of hope.
FINAL: Bucs defeat Panthers, 16-14
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The Bucs hang on for the win and now become huge Saints fans. They need an Atlanta loss or tie to win the NFC South.
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Did Tampa Bay leave the door open one too many times?
A field goal here wins it for Carolina.
Q4 0:26 - Bucs 16, Panthers 14
The Bucs are going to punt on fourth-and-9 with 26 seconds remaining. It will be a tall task for the Panthers with no timeouts.
With Carolina selling out against the run, Tampa Bay dials up play action at the perfect time as Cade Otton makes a short catch that could help seal the NFC South for the Buccaneers.
Q4 2:00 - Bucs 16, Panthers 14
On third-and-4, Baker Mayfield hits Cade Otton on the bootleg for 20 yards. The Bucs are in great position to seal this win.
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On fourth-and-8 and possibly the season on the line, Bryce Young hit rookie Tetiaroa McMillan for a 40-yard gain to the Tampa Bay 8.
The catch put McMillan past 1,000 receiving yards on the season. Two plays later, Young threw it up to Jalen Coker for an 8-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 16-14 with 2:27 left in the game. Both teams have all three timeouts remaining.
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All afternoon, Tampa Bay has allowed Carolina to hang around and now it's a two-point game with just over two minutes to play.
The Panthers have all three timeouts and if they're able to get a stop, will have an opportunity for a game-winning drive.
