Buccaneers use defense to win division
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are headed to the playoffs for the fourth straight season — and they have their defense to thank for it.
Chase McLaughlin kicked three field goals, the defense pitched a shutout and the Buccaneers defeated the host Carolina Panthers 9-0 on Sunday to win their third consecutive NFC South title.
Tampa Bay (9-8) was facing an all-or-nothing scenario entering Sunday’s game with a win clinching a playoff spot and a loss resulting in elimination.
The Buccaneers weren’t exactly impressive on offense with quarterback Baker Mayfield held to 137 yards passing in his return to Carolina, but the defense — aided by some self-inflected wounds by the Panthers — did just enough.
They held the Panthers (2-15) to 199 yards and 11 first downs, forced two turnovers and sacked rookie quarterback Bryce Young three times.
“I can’t say enough about our defense,” said Mayfield, who injured his ankle Sunday but remained in the game. “A lot of guys stepped up and made big plays on defense. Offensively we ran the ball when we needed to. It wasn’t a pretty win by any means and there is room for improvement. But now that we’re in the playoffs, we’re division champs, let’s hit the reset button and go from there.”
Carolina, which lost 26-0 to the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, became the first team to be shut out in consecutive games since the Cleveland Browns in 2008. It marked the first time in the Panthers’ 29-year history they’ve been blanked twice in a row.
The Panthers became the first NFL team since at least 1991 to fail to run a single play while leading in the fourth quarter of a game. Both of Carolina’s wins this season came on field goals at the end of regulation when it was trailing.
The Buccaneers clinched the fourth seed in the NFC and will host the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round.
Cowboys 38, at Commanders 10:
Dallas earned the NFC East title and the No. 2 seed in the conference with a resounding victory over Washington.
Dak Prescott threw two of his four touchdown passes to CeeDee Lamb and finished 31-for-36 passing for 279 yards as the Cowboys (12-5) assured themselves of playing at home to open the postseason. That’s a big deal for a club that went 8-0 in Dallas this season and has won 16 games in a row there. Dallas will host Green Bay in the wild-card round.
The last-place Commanders (4-13) tied a franchise mark for most losses in a season and guaranteed themselves the No. 2 pick in April’s draft.
Cowboys rookie Brandon Aubrey entered the day 35 for 35 on field-goal attempts, a league record for the best start to a kicker’s career. But his 36th try was blocked by Washington’s Joshua Pryor and his 37th went off the left upright in the second half.
at Giants 27, Eagles 10:
A.J. Brown suffered a knee injury and Jalen Hurts was ineffective for playoff-bound Philadelphia (11-6), which fell to New York and finished the regular season by losing five of six.
Brown crumpled to the MetLife Stadium turf in the first quarter and grabbed his right knee. Hurts took a hard hit to the right middle finger on his throwing hand and completed seven of 16 passes for 55 yards and an interception before being replaced by Marcus Mariota.
Tyrod Taylor threw for 297 yards and a touchdown and Saquon Barkley ran for two touchdowns for the Giants (6-11).
at Packers 17, Bears 9:
Jordan Love threw for 316 yards and connected with Dontayvion Wicks for a pair of touchdowns, and Green Bay (9-8) beat Chicago (7-10) to secure the NFC’s final playoff spot.
The Packers won their third straight overall and beat the Bears for a 10th consecutive time.
at Lions 30, Vikings 20:
Sam LaPorta had a twoyard touchdown catch midway through the first quarter but later limped off the field because of a knee injury, an ominous development for NFC North champion Detroit (12-5), which matched a franchise record for wins and will host a playoff game for the first time since the 1993 season when it played at the Pontiac Silverdome.
The Lions, who will host the Rams in the wild-card round, will spend the week hoping LaPorta, who set an NFL record for receptions by a rookie tight end with 86, is healthy enough to play. Detroit has won one playoff game since winning the 1957 league title.
“It’s not as bad as it looked, but it’s not good news,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “We’ll know more [Monday]. I know it looked awful.”
Minnesota (7-10) was eliminated from playoff contention, losing four straight games and six of seven.
Jared Goff, who completed 23 of 32 passes for 320 yards without a turnover, threw his second touchdown pass on a 70-yard toss to Amon-Ra St. Brown in the fourth.
Seahawks 21, at Cardinals 20:
Geno Smith threw two touchdown passes and Seattle (9-8) rallied past Arizona (4-13), but the Seahawks missed the playoffs after the Packers beat the Bears earlier in the day.
The Cardinals’ Matt Prater missed a 51-yard field attempt, wide right, on the last play of the game. It was his second missed field goal of the fourth quarter.
at Saints 48, Falcons 17:
Derek Carr passed for four touchdowns to lift New Orleans over Atlanta, but both teams missed out on a chance to win the division when Tampa Bay beat Carolina.
Either New Orleans (9-8) or Atlanta (7-10) would have won the NFC South by winning their regular-season finale if the Buccaneers lost. New Orleans’ chances for an NFC wild-card spot ended when Green Bay won later in the day.
Jamaal Williams scored on a one-yard run in the final two minutes after New Orleans lined up as if planning to take a knee and run out the clock. The play appeared to upset both the Falcons and Saints coach Dennis Allen.