The NFC South now comes down to the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers accomplished one of two things that need to go their way in Week 18 in order to win their fifth straight NFC South title by defeating the Carolina Panthers 16-14 on Saturday. They certainly didn’t make it easy on themselves in doing so, allowing the Panthers to tie it up with 2:25 remaining in the game.
But the Bucs got the critical downs they needed with a pass to Cade Otton on third-and-four in the next drive that effectively sealed the game. It was fitting after Otton caught Tampa Bay’s opening touchdown score.
Here is the full story from Bucs Roundtable writer Joe Smeltzer on the victory that keeps Tampa Bay’s playoff hopes alive.
Now, they must sit and wait, as their division title hopes rest on the New Orleans Saints beating the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday – the second thing they need. If the Falcons win, they would enact a three-way tie as 8-9 teams with the Panthers and Bucs. Those tiebreakers would have Carolina winning out despite losing their final game.
So, Tampa Bay will root for Tyler Shough to continue his NFL Rookie of the Year campaign. But while it wasn’t pretty, the Bucs’ defense came in clutch, and they controlled what they could control to hope to be kings of the NFC South and make the postseason.