The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did what they needed to on the last Saturday of the 2025 regular season, grinding out a 16-14 win over the Carolina Panthers in steady rain at Raymond James Stadium. It still was not enough. Atlanta beat New Orleans the next afternoon, the NFC South went to Carolina on a tiebreaker, and the Buccaneers were left holding a win they could not spend. Baker Mayfield’s offense scored on its opening possession and led the whole way, and though Bryce Young pulled the Panthers within two points with 2:27 to play, Carolina never got the ball back in scoring range. The game ended on a failed lateral from the Panthers’ own 3.
Table of Contents
Final score
Tampa Bay won 16-14 on January 3, 2026, scoring on its opening drive and adding three Chase McLaughlin field goals to hold off a late Carolina rally in Week 18.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina Panthers (8-9) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-9) | 10 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 16 |
Panthers vs Buccaneers game leaders
| Category | Carolina | Tampa Bay |
|---|---|---|
| Passing | Bryce Young, 266 yds (24/35, 2 TD, 1 INT) | Baker Mayfield, 203 yds (16/22, 1 TD, 1 INT) |
| Rushing | Rico Dowdle, 10 yds (7 att) | Bucky Irving, 85 yds (26 att) |
| Receiving | Tetairoa McMillan, 85 yds (4 rec) | Cade Otton, 94 yds (7 rec, 1 TD) |
| Tackles | Derrick Brown, 13 | Lavonte David, 6 |
| Sacks | Tre’von Moehrig, 1 | None |
Scoring summary
| Quarter | Time | Play | Score (CAR-TB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 9:31 | Cade Otton 18-yard pass from Baker Mayfield (McLaughlin kick) | 0-7 |
| 1st | 1:57 | Chase McLaughlin 29-yard field goal | 0-10 |
| 2nd | 10:50 | Tommy Tremble 8-yard pass from Bryce Young (Fitzgerald kick) | 7-10 |
| 2nd | 0:02 | Chase McLaughlin 36-yard field goal | 7-13 |
| 4th | 14:12 | Chase McLaughlin 48-yard field goal | 7-16 |
| 4th | 2:27 | Jalen Coker 8-yard pass from Bryce Young (Fitzgerald kick) | 14-16 |
Full box score
Passing
Carolina Panthers
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | SACK | RTG | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryce Young | 24/35 | 266 | 7.6 | 2 | 1 | 0-0 | 98.0 | 44.9 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | SACK | RTG | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baker Mayfield | 16/22 | 203 | 9.2 | 1 | 1 | 2-5 | 97.3 | 73.5 |
Mayfield’s line shows 203 gross passing yards. Tampa Bay’s net team total is 198 after two sacks for minus 5, which is the figure used in the team stats below.
Rushing
Carolina Panthers
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rico Dowdle | 7 | 10 | 1.4 | 0 | 4 |
| Chuba Hubbard | 5 | 10 | 2.0 | 0 | 5 |
| Bryce Young | 2 | -1 | -0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Team | 14 | 19 | 1.4 | 0 | 5 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bucky Irving | 26 | 85 | 3.3 | 0 | 9 |
| Baker Mayfield | 4 | 31 | 7.8 | 0 | 11 |
| Rachaad White | 7 | 23 | 3.3 | 0 | 7 |
| Tez Johnson | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 |
| Sean Tucker | 4 | -4 | -1.0 | 0 | 3 |
| Team | 42 | 140 | 3.3 | 0 | 11 |
Receiving
Carolina Panthers
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tetairoa McMillan | 4 | 85 | 21.3 | 0 | 40 | 6 |
| Jalen Coker | 6 | 47 | 7.8 | 1 | 18 | 7 |
| Tommy Tremble | 3 | 38 | 12.7 | 1 | 17 | 4 |
| Brycen Tremayne | 2 | 27 | 13.5 | 0 | 20 | 2 |
| Xavier Legette | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 0 | 12 | 4 |
| Rico Dowdle | 2 | 20 | 10.0 | 0 | 25 | 2 |
| Jimmy Horn Jr. | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| Chuba Hubbard | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| Mitchell Evans | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| Team | 24 | 266 | 11.1 | 2 | 40 | 30 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | TGT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cade Otton | 7 | 94 | 13.4 | 1 | 22 | 9 |
| Mike Evans | 2 | 34 | 17.0 | 0 | 21 | 2 |
| Rachaad White | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 0 | 11 | 2 |
| Tez Johnson | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 0 | 17 | 1 |
| Bucky Irving | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 0 | 13 | 2 |
| Jalen McMillan | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| Chris Godwin Jr. | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| Emeka Egbuka | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 | 8 | 3 |
| Payne Durham | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Team | 16 | 203 | 12.7 | 1 | 22 | 22 |
Tetairoa McMillan plays for Carolina and Jalen McMillan for Tampa Bay. Two different receivers, opposite sidelines.
Defense
Carolina Panthers
| Player | TOT | SOLO | SACK | TFL | PD | QB HITS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derrick Brown | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Scott | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Christian Rozeboom | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Mike Jackson | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tre’von Moehrig | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Krys Barnes | 6 | 2 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| DJ Wonnum | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nic Scourton | 5 | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| A’Shawn Robinson | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Chau Smith-Wade | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Trevis Gipson | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Princely Umanmielen | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Thomas Incoom | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lathan Ransom | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bobby Brown III | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Maema Njongmeta | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LaBryan Ray | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cam Jackson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bam Martin-Scott | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team | 81 | 42 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
| Player | TOT | SOLO | SACK | TFL | PD | QB HITS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lavonte David | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tykee Smith | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yaya Diaby | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Vita Vea | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacob Parrish | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Antoine Winfield Jr. | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| J.T. Gray | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Christian Izien | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SirVocea Dennis | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Haason Reddick | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Benjamin Morrison | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Evans | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Elijah Roberts | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Gaines | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Logan Hall | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Calijah Kancey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Team | 38 | 29 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Turnovers
Interceptions
| Player | Team | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Rozeboom | Carolina | 1 | 20 | 0 |
| Jacob Parrish | Tampa Bay | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Fumbles
| Player | Team | FUM | LOST | REC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rico Dowdle | Carolina | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Tetairoa McMillan | Carolina | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Bryce Young | Carolina | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Baker Mayfield | Tampa Bay | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Sean Tucker | Tampa Bay | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lavonte David | Tampa Bay | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Rashad Wisdom | Tampa Bay | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Benjamin Morrison | Tampa Bay | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Special teams
Kicking
| Player | Team | FG | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase McLaughlin | Tampa Bay | 3/4 | 48 | 1/1 | 10 |
| Ryan Fitzgerald | Carolina | 0/1 | 0 | 2/2 | 2 |
Punting
| Player | Team | NO | YDS | AVG | In20 | TB | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Martin | Carolina | 3 | 139 | 46.3 | 1 | 1 | 50 |
| Riley Dixon | Tampa Bay | 3 | 130 | 43.3 | 3 | 0 | 46 |
Kick returns
| Player | Team | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sean Tucker | Tampa Bay | 3 | 57 | 19.0 | 21 | 0 |
Punt returns
| Player | Team | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trevor Etienne | Carolina | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 |
| Brycen Tremayne | Carolina | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Team stats
| Stat | Carolina | Tampa Bay |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 16 | 21 |
| Passing first downs | 13 | 12 |
| Rushing first downs | 1 | 7 |
| First downs by penalty | 2 | 2 |
| Third down efficiency | 1-8 | 8-15 |
| Fourth down efficiency | 2-2 | 0-0 |
| Total plays | 49 | 66 |
| Total yards | 285 | 338 |
| Total drives | 10 | 9 |
| Yards per play | 5.8 | 5.1 |
| Passing yards (net) | 266 | 198 |
| Comp/Att | 24/35 | 16/22 |
| Yards per pass | 7.6 | 8.3 |
| Sacks-yards lost | 0-0 | 2-5 |
| Rushing yards | 19 | 140 |
| Rushing attempts | 14 | 42 |
| Yards per rush | 1.4 | 3.3 |
| Red zone (made-att) | 2-2 | 1-3 |
| Penalties-yards | 5-46 | 6-45 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 1 |
| Fumbles lost | 2 | 0 |
| Interceptions thrown | 1 | 1 |
| Defensive/special teams TDs | 0 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 22:35 | 37:25 |
Game information
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida. Attendance 65,082. Televised on ABC and ESPN.
Officiating crew: referee Brad Allen, umpire Marcus Woods, down judge Sarah Thomas, line judge Walter Flowers, field judge Rick Patterson, side judge Chad Hill, back judge Tyree Walton.
How the season played out
For Carolina, the loss cost nothing in the standings. The Panthers backed into the NFC South a day later, won the division for the first time since 2015, and hosted a wild-card game at Bank of America Stadium as the No. 4 seed. For Tampa Bay, the win ended a four-game losing streak and little else. The Buccaneers missed the playoffs for the first time under Todd Bowles after a 6-2 start, and their run of division titles was over. Both teams finished 8-9. Only one was still playing in January, and it was the team that lost in the rain in Tampa.
Panthers vs Buccaneers player stats FAQ
Who won the Panthers vs Buccaneers game on January 3, 2026?
Tampa Bay won 16-14 at Raymond James Stadium in the Week 18 regular-season finale.
What was the final score by quarter?
Carolina scored 0-7-0-7 and Tampa Bay scored 10-3-0-3, for a 16-14 Buccaneers win.
Who had the most passing yards?
Bryce Young led all passers with 266 yards, going 24 of 35 with two touchdowns and one interception. Baker Mayfield threw for 203 yards on 16 of 22 with one touchdown and one interception.
Who led each team in rushing?
Bucky Irving carried 26 times for 85 yards for Tampa Bay. Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard each ran for 10 yards for Carolina, whose ground game managed just 19 yards on 14 carries.
Who had the most receiving yards?
Cade Otton led everyone with 94 yards and a touchdown on seven catches. Tetairoa McMillan paced Carolina with 85 yards on four catches, including a 40-yard reception.
Did Tampa Bay reach the playoffs after beating Carolina?
No. The win left the Buccaneers 8-9, and Atlanta’s 19-17 victory over New Orleans the following day handed the NFC South to Carolina on a tiebreaker, ending Tampa Bay’s season.
