5 takeaways from Carolina Panthers’ win over Tampa Bay Bucs: Playoff hopes still alive
Carolina is officially embracing the chaos.
The Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 23-20, on Sunday in Bank of America Stadium — keeping their path to the playoffs as thorn-free as possible heading into Week 17.
This win didn’t come without stress. But stress-free wins aren’t exactly the preference for these Panthers, who are now 8-7 late in December and one win away from their first playoff appearance since 2017.
The raucous crowd in Charlotte saw several big plays on Sunday. But the two that will endure: the game-winning kick by rookie Ryan Fitzgerald from 48 yards out with 2:26 left in the contest — and then the game-sealing interception by rookie safety Lathan Ransom with 49 seconds left.
That marked Fitzgerald’s fourth game-winning kick of the season. That’s the most by an NFL rookie since Dan Bailey did so for the Dallas Cowboys in 2011, according to the Panthers’ game notes.
Here are five immediate takeaways from one of the most consequential Carolina home games in years.
What the Panthers now need to make postseason
The Panthers wouldn’t have been mathematically eliminated with a loss. But for all intents and purposes, they needed this one. It’s all much less complicated now — and much less difficult.
The Panthers, with the win Sunday, now have two ways they can win the NFC South and make the playoffs:
- They can beat the Bucs Week 18.
- They can beat the Seahawks in Week 17 and watch the Bucs lose to the Dolphins Week 17. (The Seahawks are playing for the overall No. 1 seed in the NFC; the Dolphins recorded a lopsided loss to the Bengals on Sunday.)
The Bucs, if they win out, claim the NFC South divisional bid for the playoffs.
Bryce Young isn’t perfect, but has a moment of magic
Bryce Young had some imperfect stretches on Sunday. He was indecisive at times. He was borderline immobile in others, thanks to some right ankle pain he worked through after right guard Austin Corbett stepped on it in the first half.
But Young was close to perfect in the second half — and even furnished a moment of magic.
With about 30 seconds left in the third quarter, on third-and-5, the third-year quarterback took a snap and saw a Bucs blitz overwhelm the Panthers’ offensive line. Then Young dazzled, dancing in the backfield, doing so 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage at one point, before breaking a tackle, maneuvering forward and floating what ended up being a simple pass to tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders for a touchdown.
The Bucs defense stood stunned. Young, meanwhile, lifted his arms to a screaming crowd like Cam Newton once would, Are you not entertained? style. The crowd was, in fact, entertained.
Young finished 21 of 32 for 191 yards and two touchdowns. The other touchdown toss was a critical one — a 22-yard pass to Tetairoa McMillan with 12 seconds left in the first half to give the Panthers a 13-10 lead heading into halftime. McMillan finished with six catches on 10 targets for 73 yards and one touchdown.
The third-year quarterback also had a really nice fourth-quarter deep pass to Jalen Coker, which got the Panthers into game-winning field goal range. Coker finished Sunday with three catches on five targets for 47 yards.
Rico Dowdle crests 1,000 yards, but run game doesn’t go great
The good news: The Panthers saw a notable milestone late in the second half when running back Rico Dowdle reached 1,000 yards rushing on the season for the second straight year.
The bad news: That’s the only positive thing to report for the Panthers rush game.
Carolina didn’t have its best day on the ground. The team finished with 101 yards rushing — with Dowdle recording 29 yards and Chuba Hubbard producing 27. (Young ran for an additional 20; Jimmy Horn ran for 25 on one end-around carry.) That’s not a winning recipe for an offense that has relied so heavily on the run game to find explosiveness, to manage the clock and to sustain drives.
It’s true that the Panthers were expecting a tough test against a Bucs unit that is a Top 10 rush defense. But the offense still couldn’t neutralize Vita Vea and crew enough to use their backfield as a true weapon. But what the Panthers lost in run game efficiency they made up for in turnover-free football — and a little help from their defense.
Derrick Brown continues to make plays
The Panthers, for the most part, held the Bucs at bay offensively. That was particularly true in the run game.
Credit that to the Panthers’ most impactful defensive player: Derrick Brown.
Brown finished Sunday with five tackles and one sack. After his third tackle, he actually crested the 300 tackle mark for his career. Brown is now only the fourth defensive lineman to notch 300 tackles in Panthers franchise history, a team spokesperson confirmed. The elite company Brown now finds himself in: Julius Peppers, Mike Rucker and Charles Johnson.
Three others who stepped up on defense: Safety Nick Scott (10 tackles), inside linebacker Christian Rozeboom (8 tackles, 1 sack) and outside linebacker Nic Scourton (four tackles).
Baker Mayfield took this one personally
Bank of America Stadium was rocking Sunday. The Panthers distributed 73,530 tickets, and it sounded like it. And who appeared to love it most? Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield.
The gritty gunslinger and former Carolina Panther seemed to rise to every big moment until the game’s last consequential play. And he loved egging his opponents on. After throwing his first touchdown pass — a goal-line fade to Mike Evans — he stomped into the Panthers end zone, pointing at the turf and letting out cathartic screams. His antics got the attention of safety Tre’Von Moehrig and Scourton, and the three got facemask-to-facemask for a while after that score.
Mayfield didn’t have a flawless outing. He finished 18 of 26 for 145 yards and one touchdown and one interception, and his best throw of the evening — a what-felt-like-massive 40-yard completion to Emeka Egbuka under pressure with six minutes left in the game — didn’t go on to yield any points.
But this one was personal for Mayfield. You could feel it. And it will certainly be again Week 18.
This story was originally published December 21, 2025 at 4:29 PM.
