Mayfield And Bucs Beat Panthers And Hope To Win Nfc South Title Ap New

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Jan 19, 2026, 6:35 AM

mayfield and bucs beat panthers and hope to win nfc south title ap new

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (30) runs around the tackle attempt from Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Benjamin Morrison (21) during the first half of an NFL football game Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) throws under pressure during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken) Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton (88) celebrates his touchdown catch with wide receiver Jalen McMillan (11) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David (54) celebrates after recovering a fumble by Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle during the second half of an NFL football game Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken) TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers find themselves in the uncomfortable position of rooting for the New Orleans Saints. The Carolina Panthers are pulling for the Atlanta Falcons.

The winner of the NFC South will have a losing record and be crowned at home watching on television. Mayfield threw a touchdown pass to Cade Otton, Chase McLaughlin kicked three field goals and the Buccaneers avoided elimination with a sloppy 16-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers on a rain-soaked Saturday. The Buccaneers (8-9) need New Orleans (6-10) to beat or tie Atlanta (7-9) on Sunday to clinch a fifth straight NFC South title. 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... TAMPA, Fla. -- Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers find themselves in the uncomfortable position of rooting for the New Orleans Saints.

The Carolina Panthers are pulling for the Atlanta Falcons. The winner of the NFC South will have a losing record and be crowned at home watching on television. Mayfield threw a touchdown pass to Cade Otton, Chase McLaughlin kicked three field goals and the Buccaneers avoided elimination with a sloppy 16-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers on a rain-soaked Saturday. The Buccaneers (8-9) need New Orleans (6-10) to beat or tie Atlanta (7-9) on Sunday to clinch a fifth straight NFC South title. 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... Greg Jennings and Willie Colon join Danny Parkins to hand out the Week 17 awards, highlighting the most dominant, shocking and surprising performances of the week.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers kept their season alive with a 16-14 win over the Carolina Panthers Saturday. Now the NFC South title will be determined in Sunday's game between the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints, who have long been eliminated from playoff contention. Carolina had a chance to clinch the division with a win over Tampa Bay, but now the Panthers must depend on the Falcons to beat the Saints to preserve the division lead using tiebreakers. If the Saints win, Tampa Bay will take the division by virtue of the tiebreaker. The Buccaneers are hoping for their fifth straight division title, while the Panthers are hoping for their first division title since coach Ron Rivera and quarterback Cam Newton led them to a 15-1 record... Every other team in the NFC South has won the division at least once since Carolina's last division title.

TAMPA, Fla. — Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers find themselves in the uncomfortable position of rooting for the New Orleans Saints. The Carolina Panthers are pulling for the Atlanta Falcons. The winner of the NFC South will have a losing record and be crowned at home watching on television. Mayfield threw a touchdown pass to Cade Otton, Chase McLaughlin kicked three field goals and the Buccaneers avoided elimination with a sloppy 16-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers on a rain-soaked Saturday. The Buccaneers (8-9) need New Orleans (6-10) to beat or tie Atlanta (7-9) on Sunday to clinch a fifth straight NFC South title.

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... TAMPA, Fla. — Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers find themselves in the uncomfortable position of rooting for the New Orleans Saints. The Carolina Panthers are pulling for the Atlanta Falcons. The winner of the NFC South will have a losing record and be crowned at home watching on television. Mayfield threw a touchdown pass to Cade Otton, Chase McLaughlin kicked three field goals and the Buccaneers avoided elimination with a sloppy 16-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers on a rain-soaked Saturday.

The Buccaneers (8-9) need New Orleans (6-10) to beat or tie Atlanta (7-9) on Sunday to clinch a fifth straight NFC South title. 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... The 2025 season has come down to the wire for the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With a win or tie, the Panthers will be crowned NFC South champions, clinching the No. 4 seed and a home playoff game in the wild-card round. It would mark their first division title since the 2015 season, when Carolina went all the way to Super Bowl 50 with Cam Newton at quarterback, eventually losing to the Denver Broncos.

Carolina (8-8) has lost two of its last three since its bye week in Week 14. They had an opportunity to clinch the division last week and failed miserably, losing to Seattle, 27-10. Now the Panthers need to win or tie on the road to punch that postseason ticket; otherwise, their path to the playoffs looks a lot murkier. The Panthers took the first matchup just a couple of weeks ago between these rivals, 23-20 in Charlotte. Tampa Bay has been free-falling in the second half of the season and has won just one game since its Week 9 bye. Despite the implosion, the Buccaneers can still win the NFC South and make the playoffs as the No.

4 seed, but they’ll need a little help. The Bucs need to beat the Panthers, but also need the Atlanta Falcons to lose to the New Orleans Saints in Week 18. Panthers-Bucs start time: 4:30 p.m. ETLocation: Raymond James Stadium | Tampa Bay, FloridaTV channel, live stream: ESPN, ABC, NFL+ The race for the NFC South title is officially going to come down to one game: Saints at Falcons. That's right, the division title will be decided by two teams that can't even win the division.

That became a reality on Saturday after the Buccaneers secured a 16-14 win over the Panthers in an NFC South showdown that didn't end up deciding anything. If Carolina won the game, the Panthers would have clinched the division title, but because the Bucs won, the Saints-Falcons game on Sunday will now decide who wins the division. How is that even possible? That's a great question. Let's answer it. The Falcons pulled off a shocker Monday night when they beat the Rams, 27-24.

The win improved Atlanta's record to 7-9 -- and that's where things get interesting. Let's take a quick look at the NFC South standings so we can break down why Atlanta's win made such a huge difference in the division title race. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The coincidence wasn’t lost on Baker Mayfield. Standing in the same room at Bank of America Stadium where he was informed late last season by the Carolina Panthers he was being released, Mayfield spoke to reporters about winning an NFC South... “There's a lot of things that bring me back to here,” Mayfield said.

“But that is what happens when you go to a team within the division, and you have memories of playing with them.” Chase McLaughlin kicked three field goals, Tampa Bay's defense forced two turnovers, and the Buccaneers defeated the Panthers on Sunday 9-0 to win their third straight NFC South title and reach the playoffs for... For Mayfield, returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2020 was satisfying and not only because it came against the Panthers, where he was 1-5 as a starter last season before being... 5.

Mayfield And Bucs Beat Panthers And Hope To Win Nfc South Title Ap New

People Also Search

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) Throws A Pass

Carolina Panthers Quarterback Bryce Young (9) Throws Under Pressure During

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Linebacker Lavonte David (54) Celebrates After Recovering

The Winner Of The NFC South Will Have A Losing

The Carolina Panthers Are Pulling For The Atlanta Falcons. The