On a rainy day in Tampa, the Buccaneers are off to a hot start.
Baker Mayfield fired an 18-yard touchdown pass to Cade Otton to cap Tampa Bay’s opening drive, giving the Bucs an early 7-0 lead.
Tampa Bay used a heavy dose of Bucky Irving to start the day, with the running back taking five carries for 24 yards — including a 4-yard run on third-and-2 to move the chains.
Mayfield was 3-of-3 on the first possession for 41 yards, with two of those passes going to Otton. The third was a 13-yard pass on the right sideline to Mike Evans.
Mayfield was also clearly looking to set the tone, lowering his shoulder to finish a 9-yard scramble.
Otton’s touchdown was his first of the year. He previously had the most targets this year without a TD with 72.
As expected, the Buccaneers will have their left tackle back for Saturday’s game against the Panthers.
While he missed last week with a toe injury, Tristan Wirfs is active for the key Week 18 matchup.
Wirfs was listed as a non-participant on Tuesday before he was limited on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Buccaneers will also have defensive lineman Calijah Kancey. He’s active after coming off of injured reserve with a pectoral injury. He has not played since Sept. 15. Kancey — a first-round pick in 2023 — had 7.5 sacks last year.
Receiver Chris Godwin was added to the injury report with an illness, but did not have a change in his game status and is active.
For the Panthers, defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton is inactive after he was listed as questionable with a hamstring injury. Wharton was listed as a full participant on the injury reports this week, but will miss another game. He hasn’t played since Nov. 30.
Carolina’s remaining inactives are receiver Hunter Renfrow, cornerback Robert Rochell, safety Demani Richardson, safety D’Anthony Bell, linebacker Claudin Cherelus, and defensive tackle Jared Harrison-Hunte.
The Buccaneers’ inactives are quarterback Connor Bazelak, cornerback Jamel Dean, linebacker Anthony Nelson, receiver Sterling Shepard, guard Eljah Klein, and defensive lineman Elijah Simmons.
Hours before a critical regular-season finale against the Panthers, the Buccaneers have made an update to their injury report.
Receiver Chris Godwin has been added to the list with an illness. There has been no change in his game status; he is expected to play.
Whether that means he’ll get a full workload remains to be seen. The team isn’t required to disclose that. He could, in theory, be limited in his total snaps based on the illness.
In eight games this season with five starts, Godwin has 32 catches for 352 yards and two touchdowns. He had seven catches for 108 yards and a touchdown against Miami in Week 17. That was his first 100-yard game of the year.
All other Buccaneers receivers on the active roster are healthy entering Tampa Bay’s win-or-go-home(-and-maybe-go-home-on-Sunday) showdown for the NFC South crown.
The NFL’s two best rookie receivers will take the field today, with first place in the NFC South up for grabs.
Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka and Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan have been the two best rookie receivers in the league all season, and through 16 games, their stats are almost identical.
Egbuka has 62 catches for 930 yards and six touchdowns.
McMillan has 66 catches for 929 yards and seven touchdowns.
Early in the season, Egbuka was the favorite to win the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year award. As the season has gone on, Egbuka’s numbers and his team’s fortunes have declined, while McMillan and the Panthers have improved, and now McMillan is the betting favorite to win rookie of the year.
Only one of them will make the playoffs. If McMillan’s Panthers win or tie today, they win the NFC South. The Panthers would also win the NFC South if the Falcons win tomorrow. For Egbuka and the Buccaneers to win the NFC South, they need to win today and the Falcons need to lose tomorrow.
Egbuka and McMillan can both make a good closing argument today that they deserve to be the offensive rookie of the year. Egbuka’s team, however, will be rooting for another offensive rookie of the year candidate, Saints quarterback Tyler Shough, having a big game tomorrow and upsetting the Falcons. A Saints win could earn Shough the rookie of the year award, and Egbuka would likely take that deal.
The Panthers can make the playoffs in 2025, either by beating the Buccaneers on Saturday or by watching the Falcons beat the Saints on Sunday. If that happens, Carolina will be making a very specific type of history.
Via Doug Clawson of CBS Sports, the 8-8 Panthers would be the first team since the 1970 merge to make the playoffs despite having zero wins as the favorite.
The 3-13 Jets also have no wins as the favorite. Obviously, they won’t be making the playoffs. (Again.)
The Panthers aren’t favored in Week 18 at Tampa Bay. If the Panthers win the NFC South, they';; undoubtedly be a significant underdog in the wild-card round, against the Seahawks, 49ers, or Rams.
Carolina victories in 2025 include upset over a pair of NFC playoff teams — at the Packers and at home against the Rams. If the Panthers qualify for the postseason, they’ll have no expectations. They’ll hear talking heads say throughout the week that they’re one of the worst teams to ever make it to the playoffs.
It’s give the Panthers a natural chip on the shoulder, with no pressure whatsoever to win. The No. 5 seed (whoever it is) may look past the Panthers, especially with (if the Bears and Eagles win their wild-card games at home) a rematch coming against the NFC West rival that earns the No. 1 seed (49ers or Seahawks).
Carolina has already beaten L.A., despite being 10.5-point underdogs. While there’s a pretty good chance they won’t catch the Rams napping again, the Seahawks or 49ers could be vulnerable to a Charlotte surprise.
