Carolina Panthers grab control of NFC South with 23-20 win over Bucs
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WTVD) -- The playoff-starved Carolina Panthers left the locker room Sunday happy, but not yet satisfied.
The Panthers finally figured out a way to beat Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a 23-20 victory that gave them sole possession of first place in the NFC South with two games remaining. But they are well aware they may need to do it again in Week 18 to earn their first division title in a decade and snap a seven-year playoff drought.
Carolina (8-7) could wrap up the NFC South next Sunday with a win over Seattle and a Tampa Bay (7-8) loss to Miami. However, if the Bucs beat the Dolphins, Carolina would need to beat Tampa Bay in the regular-season finale to end the Bucs' four-year reign as division champions.
Panthers coach Dave Canales said the team's locker room is filled with "hope and belief" that the franchise's fortunes could be about to change.
"Everything is right in front of us still," Canales said. "To give ourselves a chance to play meaningful football at this time of the year, those guys have earned that. They have earned because of the work they put in and being accountable to each other."
And because third-year quarterback Bryce Young continues to make big plays when it matters most.
Young threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns, and rookie safety Lathan Ransom intercepted Mayfield with 42 seconds left. Of Young's 14 wins as an NFL starter, 12 have come on game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime.
"We have the utmost confidence in Bryce," said tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders, who caught a 6-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter after Young eluded three defenders in the pocket. "He isn't our quarterback for no reason. Everything he has gone through to get to this point today, the resilience and the mental toughness and the way he carries himself, it all plays a part in that."
It was the third straight loss for the reeling Buccaneers, who were hoping the return of injured wide receiver Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan might spark a playoff run.
"The biggest thing is our confidence is good, and our camaraderie is good," Bucs coach Todd Bowles said. "But that's not enough right now. It's the execution that we're lacking and missing a few things here and there. ... Hopefully, in two weeks, we get a chance to see them again and play for something."
The Panthers were coming off a heartbreaking loss last Sunday to New Orleans on a last-second field goal, aided by a late hit by Ransom on sliding quarterback Tyler Shough on the final drive. The flag pushed the Saints safely into field goal range for the win.
But Ranson got his redemption on Sunday.
With the Bucs down 23-20 and driving for the go-ahead score - or at least the tying field goal - there was a miscommunication on a second-and-9 pass play at the Carolina 42 between Mayfield and Evans, and Ransom made a sliding catch for the interception.
"I was trying to find a lane to step through and make a throw to him," Mayfield said. "(Evans) thought I was going to scramble, which based on some of the scrambles earlier to that, so you can't blame him."
Mayfield, who was 5-0 against the Panthers before Sunday, finished 18 of 26 for 145 yards with one TD pass to Evans on Tampa Bay's opening drive.
For the Panthers, it was the fourth straight time they've followed up a loss with a win, which Young said speaks to the team's resiliency.
"I'm so proud of this group. We just know how to come back and refocus, good or bad," Young said. "We try to flush it. There is no quit in us. ... That is something that we carry into every aspect we are as a team. Not just to walk it, but to talk it. Be resilient."
Tetairoa McMillan had six catches for 73 yards and a touchdown.
With the game tied at 20 midway through the fourth quarter, Emeka Egbuka hauled in his first catch of the game, a 40-yard reception down the middle of the field, to get the Bucs to midfield. But the Panthers forced a Bucs punt, giving Young the ball back with 4:46 left at the Panthers 27.
On a third and 4, Young found Jalen Coker along the right sideline for a 34-yard reception to move the Panthers into field goal range. Carolina's drive stalled, and rookie Ryan Fitzgerald kicked a 48-yard field goal with 2:20 remaining in the game to give Carolina the lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, Tampa Bay's John Bullock was flagged for unnecessary roughness, forcing Mayfield to start the final drive at his own 10.
Mayfeld used a 26-yard run and three passes to Evans to reach Carolina territory before the interception.
The Panthers took a 13-10 lead into the locker room at halftime after McMillan hauled in a 22-yard touchdown reception from Young with 7 seconds left in the first half.
The Associated Press contributed.
