The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense picked the right time to earn its first shutout in more than two decades with a 9-0 victory over the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium.
The Buccaneers secured their third consecutive NFC South title and their fourth consecutive season with a playoff berth in the NFC South. NFL PLAYOFF BERTH.
The Buccaneers Were Never Favorites
The Buccaneers were underdogs to win the division in 2023 after Tom Brady's retirement, but Baker Mayfield concluded a feisty and successful season with one of his grittiest performances.
The team proved it could win in different ways. Getting the last win to get to 9-8 and beating the New Orleans Saints for the division title via a rare whitewash was a perfect illustration of that.
Kicker Chase McLaughlin scored all nine of the Buccaneers' points on field goals of 36, 57 and 39 yards, and closed the regular season with 29 successes on 31 attempts, setting a Buccaneers single-season field goal percentage record of 93.5%.
McLaughlin also hit all 33 extra point attempts and hit seven of eight from more than 50 yards, including three for 57 yards.
The final game marked the first time since Dec. 29, 2002, when the Buccaneers beat the Chicago Bears in Champaign, Illinois, 15-0, that Tampa Bay won a game without scoring a touchdown. It was only the fifth time, but the second time in Charlotte.
The Buccaneers defeated the Panthers 12-9 on Oct. 27, 2002. This was Tampa Bay's first shutout of the defense since a 21-0 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Nov. 31, 2010.
The Buccaneers limited the Panthers to 199 yards of offense, 11 first downs and two third-down conversions on 12 attempts.
Quarterback Bryce Young, capping his rookie season after being selected first overall in April, completed just 11 of 18 passes for 94 yards.
The Panthers tried to keep the ground game as much as possible, running it 29 times for 131 yards, and running back Chuba Hubbard was their best weapon with 83 yards on 23 carries.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the only team in the NFC to make the playoffs in each of the last 4 seasons 🏴☠️ pic.twitter.com/lvDUi1lMIW
- PFF TB Buccaneers (@PFF_Buccaneers) January 8, 2024
Few Points, But High Efficiency
The whitewash was preserved by some key defensive plays, as the Panthers reached the goal line twice and attempted a 52-yard field goal.
Antoine Winfield Jr. contributed another impressive play by diving to strip D.J. Chark of the ball just before it crossed the goal line in the second quarter. Jamel Dean recovered for the Buccaneers in the end zone.
In the third quarter, Winfield's third-down sack catch from Winfield to Young forced Matthew Wright to attempt a 52-yard field goal and he missed it wide left.
In the fourth quarter, a Raheem Blackshear touchdown run was nullified by a penalty and on the next play, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka had a strip-sack, with Anthony Nelson recovering for the Bucs. Those were the only two turnovers of the game.
Winfield proved once again that he is one of the NFL's best defensive playmakers, combining five tackles with the sack and forced fumble, with one tackle for loss.
Linebacker Lavonte David led with nine tackles, and freshman outside linebacker Yaya Diaby had six stops and a sack. Winfield finished the season with 122 tackles, 6.0 sacks, six forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, three interceptions and a team-high 12 passes defended.
Surprisingly, he was left off the Pro Bowl roster, but has more meaningful games to play in January.
Tampa Bay's offense was not particularly productive for much of the game, finishing with 228 yards and 14 first downs.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield, playing a week after suffering a painful rib injury, threw for just 137 yards on 20 of 32 attempts, but no interceptions. He also ran for a crucial first down on third down in the final quarter.
Chris Godwin, who topped 1,000 yards on the season, was Mayfield's favorite receiver, catching six of his seven attempts for 51 yards.
The Buccaneers were able to relieve some pressure on Mayfield by running the ball 29 times for 113 yards.
Running back Rachaad White had 75 yards on 19 carries, including eight attempts for 32 yards plus two third-down conversions on the final series that consumed more than six minutes of clock time. Chase Edmonds added four carries for 27 yards.
In the end, it wasn't a matter of number of touchdowns, but of efficiency on the field. The 9-0 win was enough for Tampa Bay to earn its ticket to the NFL Wild Card round.
