Will it be Tampa Bay or Atlanta?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Carolina Panthers 48-14 last Sunday, which combined with a loss for the Atlanta Falcons massively boosted their playoff hopes.
After the tough loss against the Dallas Cowboys the week before, the Bucs needed to win to still be in with a chance of making the playoffs. They took care of business, and dominated the Panthers, scoring 48 points.
The game was close for a little while, with the Panthers hanging around at 27-14 at half time. The Bucs however, shut yet another team out in the second half, and went on to score another three touchdowns.
There were many stars for the Bucs, including Bucky Irving who broke 1,000 yards rushing on the season, the first Buccaneer to do so since 2015.
Mike Evans had another fantastic game, with two touchdown grabs, and 97 yards. He will need just 85 yards against the New Orleans Saints to reach 1,000 yards on the season for the 11th straight year.
Despite a duck making an appearance for a blocked punt for Tampa, it was not the only animal on the field.
Baker Mayfield also showed up, with 359 passing yards, no turnovers, and five – yes five – touchdowns.
The five against the Panthers bring Mayfield’s total on the year to 39 touchdowns.
Brady’s TD record in sight
Mayfield is just four touchdowns shy of Tom Brady’s record of 43, thrown just his Super Bowl winning season with Tampa.
Currently at 39, he already holds the third best touchdown total on a season in Bucs history.
Mayfield is also tied second for touchdowns in the NFL this season with Lamar Jackson and behind Joe Burrow, two MVP frontrunners.
He does, however, have the second most interceptions of any quarterback this season, behind only Kirk Cousins.
If Mayfield can clean up his mistakes, there is no reason why the Bucs cannot make a deep playoff run this year.
All comes down to Week 18
In other good news, the Atlanta Falcons fell to the Washington Commander in overtime, handing the NFC South lead back to Tampa.
If the Bucs beat the New Orleans Saints next week, they will be in the playoffs with a 10-7 record.
The Bucs can also sneak in with a 9-8 record providing the Falcons lose to Carolina.
If the Bucs can play against the Saints like they did against the Panthers, they will wrap up a fourth straight division title.
Should they make the playoffs, the Bucs’ opponents would be either the Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers or Washington Commanders. These would all be tough match-ups, providing the Bucs make the playoffs.
For the past few years, the NFC South has been decided on the last day. This year is no different.
