Panthers fall 16-14 to Bucs, wait and hope Falcons win against Saints
TAMPA, Fla. (WTVD) -- The Carolina Panthers watched another chance to clinch the NFC South slip away on Saturday, but their playoff hopes remain alive.
Baker Mayfield threw a touchdown pass to Cade Otton, Chase McLaughlin kicked three field goals and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers avoided elimination with a sloppy 16-14 victory over the Panthers on a rain-soaked Saturday.
Both teams need help from division rivals to make the postseason.
They'll be watching Atlanta (7-9) at New Orleans (6-10) closely on Sunday. Should the Falcons prevail, the Panthers (8-9) win a complicated tiebreaker and the division for the first time since coach Ron Rivera and quarterback Cam Newton led them to a 15-1 record and a Super Bowl appearance 10 years ago. If the Saints win, the Buccaneers (8-9) would win the South for the fifth consecutive year and make the playoffs.
"It's in the hands of another game, and that's not what we were hoping for, but there's still hope," Panthers second-year coach Dave Canales said. "They're still alive, and the locker room certainly is sick about a missed opportunity, but I can't take anything away from the Bucs and the way they played today."
Canales said the Panthers will not watch the Falcons-Saints game as a team on Sunday. Quarterback Bryce Young suggested he might not watch it at all.
"I don't know. ... Might just see how it ends up," said Young, whose 8-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Coker finished a 72-yard drive to enable Carolina to pull within 16-14 with 2:27 remaining. "It's on us for that being our reality. We had an opportunity to take it, and now we have to leave it in someone else's hands. We take ownership in that."
The Buccaneers hold a two-team tiebreaker over the Panthers. But Carolina holds the three-team tiebreaker over Tampa Bay if Atlanta also finishes 8-9.
"I never thought I'd see a day where I'm rooting for the Saints," Bucs veteran linebacker Lavonte David said.
Before the Buccaneers faced New Orleans in October, Mayfield accused the Saints of dirty play and said, "I do not like them."
"A tie still gets us in," Mayfield said with a smirk.
Now, Tampa Bay's playoff hopes hinge on the Saints beating the Falcons on the road on Sunday.
The Buccaneers were 0-8 in games where Mayfield threw an interception before overcoming his ninth pick in the last eight games.
After McLaughlin's 38-yard field-goal try was blocked with just over five minutes remaining, Carolina got within 16-14 on Bryce Young's 8-yard TD pass to Jalen Coker with 2:27 left.
Mayfield tossed a short pass to Otton for a 20-yard gain on third-and-4 to extend Tampa Bay's drive and run off more time. The Panthers got the ball back at their 3 with 18 seconds and no timeouts left. The game ended on a desperate series of laterals that resulted in a fumble.
Mayfield connected with Otton on an 18-yard TD pass for a 7-0 lead as the Bucs scored a touchdown on their opening drive for the third straight game. It was Otton's first TD of the season.
Down 10-0, the Panthers turned Christian Rozeboom's interception into a quick score. Rozeboom returned the pick 20 yards to Tampa Bay's 19. Young then connected with Tommy Tremble on an 8-yard TD pass to cut it to 10-7.
Jacob Parrish picked off Young late in the second half, and the Buccaneers got a 36-yard field goal from McLaughlin to take a 13-7 halftime lead.
McLaughlin kicked a 48-yard field goal early in the fourth to extend Tampa Bay's lead.
Carolina's Ryan Fitzgerald missed a 54-yarder short on the opening drive of the third quarter.
"Missed opportunities, absolutely. These are the championship moments that we live for, that we prepare for, that we talk about. And to not be able to get that done, to not be able to play our best football in these moments ... we're all disappointed," Canales said. "We have to find a way to be able to play in these types of games. "I told the group we don't ever have to feel this way again. We can build from this. We have to take the next steps and make sure we show up with the championship mindset."
Mayfield completed his first six passes before misfiring on a cross-field, 13-yard toss to Payne Durham, who was wide open in the end zone. The Bucs settled for McLaughlin's 29-yard field goal and a 10-0 lead.
Regardless of what happens Sunday, a team with a losing record will represent the NFC South in the playoffs.
Canales isn't apologizing.
"It's a grimy, gritty division," he said. "Between our team, between the Falcons and the Bucs, we have our share of wins against top opponents in this league. We all play a similar style of football, and the pride of it is on just physicality and playing really tough. That's where the division is headed. I'm proud to be part of it."
The Associated Press contributed.
