The Tampa Bay Buccaneers exploded offensively Sunday in a 48-14 rout of the Carolina Panthers. The Buccaneers (9-7) now temporarily sit atop the NFC South division.
After the teams exchanged first-quarter touchdowns, the Buccaneers scored 20 unanswered points to blow the game open as they dominated time of possession en route to a 551-yard day. Tampa Bay punted just once all afternoon and opened the game with five straight scoring drives.
Baker Mayfield posted his first career game with 350-plus yards and five touchdowns, connecting with Mike Evans for two of those touchdowns as he became the seventh player in NFL history with six or more seasons with at least 10 touchdown receptions.
FIRE THE CANNONS 💣💥
📺: #CARvsTB on CBS pic.twitter.com/eh77V1iShq
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) December 29, 2024
On the ground, Tampa Bay running back Bucky Irving continued building one of the best rookie seasons in Tampa Bay history, finishing with 113 rushing yards on 20 carries and an additional 77 receiving yards.
Carolina (4-12) posted just 39 rushing yards, their fewest in a game since Week 15 in 2022. Special teams also struggled, giving up a blocked punt for a touchdown. The lone bright spot for the Panthers continues to be the improvement of second-year quarterback Bryce Young, who threw some impressive passes connecting with Adam Thielen.
Young finished the afternoon 15-for-28 for 203 yards and two touchdowns, while Thielen posted his first game with multiple receiving touchdowns since joining the Panthers.
Mayfield’s field day
Mayfield had a fairly pedestrian performance in the first meeting with the Panthers four weeks ago. Not Sunday.
The former Panthers QB picked apart a Carolina defense missing several starters in throwing for a career-high five touchdowns. It was Mayfield’s fourth game with four or more touchdown passes – tied with Lamar Jackson for the most this season. He also tied Tom Brady’s franchise record for most three-touchdown games in a single season at eight.
Mayfield narrowly missed finished with a perfect passer rating for the second time in his career. He’ll have to settle for a 153.0 rating that was the second highest of his career and for keeping the Bucs’ playoff hopes very much alive. Tampa Bay needs a loss from Atlanta, which won both meetings with the Bucs, to claim its fifth consecutive NFC South title. — Joe Person, Carolina Panthers beat writer
Carolina defense gutted in new season-low
Yes, the Panthers were missing linebacker Josey Jewell and cornerback Jaycee Horn. But this was the type of defensive performance that gets coordinators fired, putting Ejiro Evero’s job status in jeopardy.
The Panthers avoided giving up the most points in a game in their history, thanks to Todd Bowles pulling his starters midway through the fourth quarter and having his backup QB take a knee in scoring position. But the Panthers did set another dubious record: They’ve now allowed a team-record 496 points on the season and are threatening to set a league record for points allowed. Special teams coordinator Tracy Smith, whose unit allowed a blocked punt for a touchdown, also should face scrutiny. — Person
Required reading
(Photo: Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)
