Buccaneers Are NFC South Champs After 32-6 Win Over Panthers
It's official: The Buccaneers (11-4) are NFC South champions for the first time since 2007.
Tampa Bay dominated throughout its 32-6 win over the Panthers (5-10), who struggled to find any consistency on both sides of the ball all game long. Credit be to the Bucs, however, as they clearly controlled the game from the opening kickoff.
The defense finished with a season-high seven sacks and allowed just six points. Tom Brady threw for 200+ yards and a touchdown, and Ke'Shawn Vaughn and Ronald Jones II ran for 135 combined yards and two total touchdowns as the Bucs quickly overcame an early 3-0 deficit en route to their first division title in nearly 15 years.
Carolina won the toss and deferred, so the Bucs began the game on offense.
The Bucs quickly faced their first third down of the game, but they were able to convert the 3rd and 1 thanks to a three-yard run by Jones. But they weren't able to convert the 3rd and 6 a couple of plays later and had to punt. Alex Erickson's 16-yard return gave the Panthers the ball at their own 30, which is where their first drive started.
Carolina's first play of the game was a 14-yard completion to Tommy Tremble, but Will Gholston offset the play with a sack on the next play that helped put the Panthers in a 3rd and 8 a couple of plays later. Cam Newton found D.J. Moore for a 10-yard gain to move the sticks.
Newton broke off a 33-yard run on the next play and now the Panthers had a 1st and 10 from the Tampa Bay 11. The Bucs defense came through with a stop thanks to heavy pressure on third down and forced the Panthers into a 24-yard field goal attempt. Lirim Hajrullahu's kick went through the uprights and the Panthers led, 3-0, with 7:17 left in the first quarter.
The Bucs fell behind the chains early on their next drive after Rob Gronkowski was flagged for a false start, but Jones' 13-yard catch-and-run on 1st and 15 set the Bucs up with a manageable 2nd and 2 for their next play. Vaughn did the rest as he broke through the second level of the defense and stiff-armed a defender en route to a 55-yard touchdown run to give the Bucs their first lead of the game. Ryan Succop's PAT was good and Tampa Bay led, 7-3, with 4:13 to go in the first quarter.
It looked like the Bucs were going to hold the Panthers to a three-and-out on Carolina's next drive, but Moore was able to come up with an impressive catch over the middle that bounced off both he and Sean Murphy-Bunting for the first down. The 15-yard gain gave Carolina a 1st and 10 close to midfield.
Newton and Co. faced another third down shortly after, but this time the ball didn't bounce their way. Shaq Barrett tipped the ball in the air and Whitehead came down with the interception to end Carolina's drive and set the Bucs offense up with a fresh set of downs at the Tampa Bay 49.
Antonio Brown's offensive pass interference penalty swapped out a 1st and 10 for an eventual 3rd and 13, but Brown's 19-yard reception on 3rd and 13 put that in the rearview and gave Tampa Bay a 1st and 10 at the Panther 35. The Bucs converted another third down a few plays later, but couldn't do it a third time as the offense fell short on 3rd and 12. Succop's 36-yard field goal attempt sailed through the uprights and Tampa Bay's lead increased to 10-3 with 10:54 to go in the second quarter.
Sam Darnold took the field for Carolina's next drive. His impact was immediately felt as he scrambled away from pressure and found a wide-open Shi Smith down the right sideline for a 63-yard pass. All of sudden, the Panthers had a 1st and goal at the Tampa Bay 10.
Newton came in for the goal line sequence. It didn't work out well for the Panthers because Tampa Bay's defense said "No Sir" in the form of a hard, open-field tackle by Whitehead on second down and a sack by Barrett on third down. Hajrullahu's 29-yard field goal attempt was good and it cut the Bucs' lead to 10-6, with 7:20 left in the first half.
Brown carried the Bucs into Panther territory with two receptions for 32-yards on the Bucs' next drive, but the offense couldn't push further than the 25-yard line. Succop's 43-yard attempt went straight down the pipe and the Bucs led, 13-6, with 2:40 to go in the first half.
The Bucs defense did exactly what it needed to do, which was force the Panthers into a three-and-out. The Bucs used all three timeouts in order to ensure that Brady received the ball back with as much time as possible.
Brady and Co. started their drive with around 1:40 on the clock, but it took just one play to get into a goal-to-go situation thanks to a 62-yard hookup between Brady and Cyril Grayson, Jr..
Grayson's reception gave the Bucs a 1st and goal at the Carolina 7. Brady then hit Cameron Brate over the middle for a four-yard touchdown two plays later to make it a 19-6 game. The Panthers were flagged for offsides on the PAT attempt, so the Bucs decided to go for two points instead of kicking from the 1. The conversion failed and the score remained, 19-6, with 1:12 left before halftime.
Carolina's following drive started with a roughing the passer call on Whitehead that moved the ball to the Carolina 40. The Panthers offense would gain just two more yards, however, and had to punt the ball away.
The Bucs handed the ball off and went into halftime with a 19-6 lead.
Anthony Nelson killed Carolina's first drive of the second half as burst through the line and took down Newton for an eight-yard loss on 3rd and 10.
Kenjon Barner's 20-yard punt return gave the Bucs great field position to start their first drive of the second half. A 13-yard completion to Brown on 3rd and 7 moved the ball into Carolina territory and then Brady hit Gronkowski for 23-yards to the Panther 9 a few plays later. The reception was both the first catch and first target for Gronk all game long.
A holding call on Jeremy Chinn allowed the Bucs to receive a new set of downs inside the Carolina 5. Brady and Gronk couldn't connect in the end zone on third down, which left the Bucs with a 22-yard field goal attempt from Succop. The kick was good and the Bucs led, 22-6, with 8:39 remaining in the third quarter.
Whitehead came up with a huge tackle on first down and pass breakup on second down to force 3rd and 10. Vita Vea finished off the three-and-out with a sack on 3rd and 10 and Carolina punted the ball back to the Bucs, who started their second drive of the second half at their own 43 after Barner's six-yard return.
Brown logged an 11-yard reception, Brady scrambled for 11-yards, and then Grayson gained 14-yards on a pitch to move the Bucs offense into the red zone. Grayson followed his run up with a 12-yard catch-and-run on the very next play to set the Bucs up with a 1st and goal at the Carolina 7.
Jones then made it look easy on the next play as he ran seven-yards untouched into the end zone to push the Bucs' lead to 29-6 with 2:08 to go in the third quarter after Succop's PAT went through the uprights.
The Panthers weren't trying to go away quietly, though. Moore came up with a 19-yard reception on 3rd and 10 and that proceeded to ignite a drive that eventually saw the Panthers face a 2nd 8 from the Bucs' 21. But Gholston and Steve McClendon sacked Darnold for a three-yard loss on the next play and then Darnold overthrew a wide-open Hubbard on 3rd and 11. With the deficit being 29-6, the Panthers had to go for it on 4th and 11. But the key was Darnold's overthrow of Hubbard. It was a throw that should've been made and would've led to a touchdown.
Instead, the Panthers couldn't convert the 4th and 11 and Tampa Bay took over at its own 24 with 11:52 left in the game and a chance to ice things for good.
The Bucs did the complete opposite and went three-and-out, instead. But the Panthers also went three-and-out on the following drive. Carolina tried to convert a 4th and 10, but Kevin Minter sacked Darnold, which gave the Bucs the ball back and pretty much sealed the game. Minter's sack gave the Bucs a total of six on the night at this point.
Tampa Bay took over at the Carolina 45 and Jones immediately took the ball 16-yards down the field, but the offense stalled soon afterward. The Bucs still put points on the board, though, thanks to a 48-yard field goal from Succop. The Bucs now led, 32-6, with 7:57 remaining in the game.
The Bucs did enough to the point where they put the backups in on offense, but still had to punt the ball away. Carolina took over at its own 13 with 2:10 to go in the game.
Carolina drove all the way inside Tampa Bay's 5, but the Bucs held the Panthers out of the end zone, thus winning the game, 32-6.
The Buccaneers are now 11-4 on the season and officially clinched a playoff spot and an NFC South title with its win over the Panthers.
The Bucs travel to New York to take on the Jets in MetLife Stadium for their Week 17 contest. Kickoff is currently set for 1 p.m. EST.
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