The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took care of the Carolina Panthers, 30-24, at home to clinch their second straight NFC South title and will be back in the playoffs. It was the first time the Bucs have won consecutive games since weeks 9 and 10 (against the Rams and Seahawks).
Mike Evans Has Career Game
With 207 yards and three touchdowns, Mike Evans recorded his ninth straight season with 1000 yards. His ability to create separation deep really helped Tampa Bay’s offense create more big plays. This is a quality that has been lacking all season.
Evans was able to have deep balls on all of his touchdowns with a 63-yarder, a 57-yarder, and a 30-yarder, respectively.
Evans on his incredible game: “I just always stay ready…It doesn’t do good to dwell on the past and things that could have gone good or not… I keep playing I work hard every week and the ball found me today.”
He was not the only Tampa Bay receiver to find success. Chris Godwin played well once again as he quietly and consistently has been doing all season.
He caught all of his targets with nine receptions for 120 yards, averaging 13.3 yards a catch. This showed how Brady and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich were able to find holes in the Panthers’ zone defenses.
Brady had one of his best games of the season with 432 yards and the three touchdowns he threw to Evans.
Defense Comes Up with Key Turnovers
There were three turnovers by Carolina in the age that helped keep Tampa Bay right in the mix when the offense occasionally sputtered out.
Two of the turnovers were fumbles by Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold. Down 14-7 in the second quarter, Devin White was able to hop on the football to eventually set up a Tampa Bay field goal to make the score 14-10 at halftime.
The second fumble came later in the game in the fourth quarter by Anthony Nelson who got to Darnold and got the football. This set up a rushing touchdown by Brady to extend Tampa Bay’s lead to 30-21.
Darnold also threw a pick to Sean Murphy-Bunting early in the third quarter to help the Bucs avoid being by more points after Carolina seemed to be driving; especially after a huge deep pass to DJ Moore earlier in the drive. Moore finished the day with 117 yards and a touchdown he had in the second quarter to make it a two-score game.
Up Next
The Buccaneers are now 8-8 following the playoff-clinching victory. It is also their fifth NFC South title. The win means that there will be a wild card game played in Raymond James Stadium following the season finale. The finale sees Tampa Bay travel to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta to take on the Falcons. Kick-off is at 1:00 p.m. E.T. Florida Gators legend and Bucs backup Kyle Trask will likely be the starter.