Tampa Bay Buccaneers are imploding at the perfect time for the Carolina Panthers

"It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail." -Gore Vidal

The quote applies well to the Carolina Panthers this year, who are competing for a playoff spot for the first time in eight years. Not only are they finally trending up, the rest of the NFC South is falling off at the exact same time.

The biggest collapse is currently ongoing down in Tampa, where the Buccaneers have won the division four straight years. However, they have also lost six of their last eight games, including defeats against the division cellar-dwellers in New Orleans and Atlanta.

The #Bucs now have lost 6 of their last 8 games including back-to-back divisional losses to New Orleans and Atlanta.

The #Panthers are in first place in the NFC South. pic.twitter.com/kPJnW27opL
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 12, 2025

Their latest loss was a stunning collapse on Thursday night against the Falcons, which saw the reigning NFC South champions blow a 28-14 lead in the fourth quarter.

Many factors have contributed to the Buccaneers' slide, but Baker Mayfield's regression has to be near the top of the list. Specifically, he's having trouble protecting the ball.

After posting an exceptional 12 to 1 touchdown to interception ratio in his first six games, Mayfield has struggled with turnovers ever since - dropping to a 10 to 6 ratio in Tampa's last eight contests. Mayfied hasn't posted a passer rating of 100 or more since Week 9 against New England and his QBR has been lower than 50.0 in three of his last four games.

On the other side of the ball, Todd Bowles' defense has seen better days. While they're still stout against the run (ranking 8th in rushing yards allowed) they're 25th in total yardage surrendered thanks to being tied for 30th in passing yards per game allowed. Tampa has a decent pass rush but they've been exposed on the back end, grading out 21st in coverage.

In other words, the best path for the Panthers to beat the Bucs in their coming matchups is for Bryce Young to let loose the way he has against Atlanta and Los Angeles. If Young can keep his game at the level we saw in those two starts (or something resemling it, at least) Carolina should win the division.

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