4 Takeaways From the Buccaneers' Win Over the Panthers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 16-14 win over the Carolina Panthers on Saturday means the NFC South will go down to the final day of the regular season – but it will be decided by two teams that are already eliminated from playoff contention.

The Buccaneers squeaked out a win on Saturday in what was a rain-filled matchup that saw neither offense thrive. Instead, Tampa Bay's defense forced a key fourth-quarter turnover and held on for a win.

Here are my takeaways:

1. With the win, the Buccaneers now wait and watch

The NFL didn’t schedule Week 18 ideally. Instead of Panthers vs. Buccaneers being a winner-take-all game, Saints vs. Falcons on Sunday will now ultimately decide the NFC South title.

After Saturday’s 16-7 Bucs win, Tampa Bay and Carolina are tied at 8-9. If they’re the only two teams tied, the Bucs win the tiebreaker and the NFC South title. If the Falcons can win at home Sunday against the Saints, they’d also be 8-9 and create a three-way tie, in which case the Panthers would win the division.

So, the Buccaneers won on Saturday, but all they could really celebrate was staying alive for one more day, their fate waiting on two other teams not involved in Saturday’s game.

"We gave ourselves a chance," Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said. "That’s all we can ask for."

Atlanta is favored at home and beat the Saints earlier this season, and New Orleans has several players out with injury, including top wide receiver Chris Olave.

It’s anticlimactic either way. If the Bucs win, they celebrate in their living rooms instead of in front of a home crowd. If the Panthers win, they will have backed into the playoffs after losing three of their last four games.

Both the Bucs and Panthers are now in a position where they have to root for a direct rival since it’s their only path to the playoffs.

"I hate to say it, but ‘Who Dat,’" Tampa Bay tight end Cade Otton said.

Cade Otton was Baker Mayfield's go-to receiver on Saturday with seven catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

Asked if it was difficult for him to pull for the Saints, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield reminded everyone that a tie between New Orleans and Atlanta would do the trick and that he’d also be fine with that.

2. Lavonte David comes up big in potentially his final game

Tampa Bay’s defense has had a long year and David, the Buccaneers’ legendary linebacker playing in his 14th season and nearing his 36th birthday, needed to have a game as he did on Saturday.

David’s sixth tackle tied him with Derrick Brooks for the franchise’s career tackles record – pulling even with a Pro Football Hall of Famer – but his next play was even bigger. David recovered a crucial fumble after the Panthers botched a pitch from running back Rico Dowdle on a flea flicker back to quarterback Bryce Young. Carolina was at the Bucs’ 20-yard line in the fourth quarter, threatening to make it a one-score game, and the turnover gave all the momentum back to Tampa Bay.

"He always comes up with the big play when you need it," Bowles said. "If this was it for him, he went out in true Lavonte fashion. 

"He did a heck of a job. I can’t say enough good things about him."

David has been a step slower this season, but he’s still leading the Bucs in tackles at age 35, and he led the defensive charge Saturday to keep the Bucs alive and keep the Panthers in check the whole night. Whether it yields a playoff berth or not, he got to play his last regular-season game as a winner.

Lavonte David came up with the ball for the biggest turnover that the Bucs defense has forced this season. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

3. The Bucs went back to the same game plan vs. Carolina – and it worked this time

Two weeks ago, the Bucs lost to the Panthers in Charlotte. After the game, they said they planned to run the ball 30 times because opponents were 15-2 in the last 17 times they had 30 or more carries against them. That really isn’t unusual since 30 carries means you had the lead and ran the ball as a result instead of the other way around.

On Saturday, it sure seemed like the same script. The Bucs got to 30 carries before the third quarter was over, with only 104 yards to show for them. They succeeded in keeping Carolina’s offense off the field. Tampa Bay ran 40 plays in the first half compared to just 18 for the Panthers, and the defense did enough to make that hold up.

4. For the Panthers, this season was a huge step forward regardless of playoff status

It’s out of their hands now, but regardless of whether the Panthers win the division, they’re tied for the best record in the NFC South. It's another big step in head coach Dave Canales’ third season in Charlotte.

To go from two to five to eight wins under Canales is steady progress for a franchise that sorely needed it. Carolina will now enter next season with real expectations of being a playoff team. Young has taken a step forward, as well, such that Carolina should exercise his fifth-year option for 2027.

"I love being a part of this team," Young told reporters after the game. "The fight that we’ve shown all year, the fight that we always have, the resolve. (I’m) not feeling what we want to right now, but I wouldn’t want to be in this position this year with any other group."

The excitement around rookie receiver Tetairoa McMillan is real. His 40-yard catch on fourth-and-8 in the fourth quarter pushed him over 1,000 receiving yards for the season, perhaps the only rookie to do so this year.

4 ½. Looking ahead: NFC South could be wide open next season

Who’s the team to beat in the NFC South next season? It’s possible that all four teams will be picked as potential division champs.

Is it the Bucs and Panthers who battled for the division title in the final week of the season, or the Saints and Falcons, who had won four straight and three straight entering their Week 18 meeting in Atlanta?

Do all four head coaches return – or is it just two of them? Atlanta and Tampa Bay have big decisions to make, and the Falcons could have a new general manager, as well. But this division will be seen as one of the more unpredictable and wide-open races in the NFL for 2026 – who knows, perhaps a team will finish with a winning record, even.

Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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