The rain was falling steadily in Tampa throughout the first half of Saturday’s matchup, with the Buccaneers carrying a 13-7 lead over the Panthers into halftime.
The Buccaneers scored on each of their first two drives, with Baker Mayfield hitting Cade Otton for an 18-yard touchdown and Chase McLaughlin hitting a 29-yard field goal to put Tampa Bay up by 10.
But then Mayfield’s 11th interception of the season helped the Panthers get on the board. Linebacker Christian Rozeboom picked off the deep pass over the middle and a few plays later, Bryce Young connected with Tommy Tremble for an 8-yard touchdown to make the score 10-7, Bucs.
Carolina then had a promising drive brewing toward the end of the half, but Young tossed an interception to rookie Jacob Parrish to give the Bucs the ball back. Mayfield made an outstanding play to move the chains on third-and-5 from the Tampa Bay 47, keeping it alive with the pass rush coming before hitting Otton for a 22-yard gain.
McLaughlin hit a 36-yard field goal to end the half, putting the Bucs up by six.
The Buccaneers have been able to move the ball, out-gaining the Panthers 216 to 80 and holding the ball 21:44 to 8:16. Tampa Bay finished the first half with 14 first downs to Carolina’s six. The Bucs were also 6-of-9 on third down while the Panthers were 0-of-3 on third down.
Tampa Bay more than doubled up on Carolina’s plays, with the home team running 40 to the Panthers’ 18.
Mayfield was 10-of-15 for 130 with a touchdown and an interception in the first 30 minutes. He’s also rushed three times for 28 yards. Bucky Irving has 49 yards on 14 carries.
Young is 7-of-11 for 75 yards with a touchdown and a pick. Rico Dowdle has just 5 yards on five carries.
The Panthers will receive the second-half kickoff.
A Baker Mayfield interception has helped get the Panthers on the board.
Carolina took advantage of an extra possession to score a touchdown with a Bryce Young pass to Tommy Tremble.
The Bucs still lead 10-7 with 10:50 left in the second quarter.
On third-and-7 from the Tampa Bay 23, Mayfield was looking for Emeka Egbuka deep down the middle. But linebacker Christian Rozeboom was right in the line of the pass, picking it off and returning it 20 yards to the Tampa Bay 19.
From there, Young connected with Tetairoa McMillan for an 11-yard gain to make it first-and-goal. A play later, Young hit Tremble for an 8-yard score.
Young is now 5-of-7 for 46 yards with a TD.
The Buccaneers had scored on their first two drives before the interception.
On the injury front, Bucs linebacker Anthony Walker is out with an ankle injury suffered on the opening kickoff.
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.
