NFC SOUTH RACE

QB’s TD run with fumbled snap earns Panthers playoff berth.

Newton’s touchdown in final minute caps Panthers’ comeback to clinch playoff berth,

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Cam Newton scored on a 2-yard touchdown run with 35 seconds remaining to lift the Carolina Panthers to a 22-19 win over the upset-minded Tampa Bay Buccaneers and clinch a spot in the NFC playoffs.

The Panthers (11-4) trailed most of the second half, but Newton drove the Panthers 59 yards, completing 4 of 7 passes for 52 yards in the final 3 minutes before scoring on what could have been a disastrous play. Newton fumbled the snap from the shotgun, alertly picked it up and then ran into the end zone for the go-ahead score.

“I almost gave it up,” Newton said.

The winning drive saw the Panthers convert a third-and-10 on Winston’s 11-yard pass to Kaelin Clay and a fourth-and-1 from the Bucs 3-yard line on Jonathan Stewart’s 1-yard run. Newton scored on the next play and celebrated the touchdown by using the football as a prop, pretending to light a candle on a cake in celebration of his son Chosen’s 2nd birthday.

Carolina can clinch the NFC South championship with a win over Atlanta and a New Orleans loss to Tampa Bay.

The Panthers sealed the game when Kawann Short sacked Jameis Winston on Tampa Bay’s final drive, and forced a fumble that Julius Peppers recovered. Winston threw for 367 yards and a touchdown but was sacked six times and fumbled three times, losing all three. The Bucs are 4-11.

The Panthers offense struggled all day.

Newton threw for just 160 yards and ran for a team-high 52 yards on 14 carries. Carolina’s only touchdown in the first three quarters came on a 103-yard kickoff return by Damiere Byrd.

Tampa Bay’s defense set the tone early, limiting the Panthers to just 78 yards in the first half — the fewest in an opening half since Newton took over as Carolina’s starting QB in 2012.

The Panthers finished the first quarter with 7 yards of offense — their fewest yards in a 1st quarter since gaining 5 total yards in a 38-17 loss to the Packers in Week 7, 2014. The Panthers gained only 255 yards of total offense.

The Bucs struggled trying to move the football on the ground. They rushed for 66 yards on 24 carries (2.8 per attempt). Peyton Barber led the team with 51 yards on 13 carries.