Nothing But BucsBreaking Down Bucs' Win vs. Panthers | Nothing But Bucs
This is the Nothing But Bucks Podcast. Now here's your host, TJ. Reeves.
Oh my goodness, my goodness, post Christmas and ready for the new year. Let's just say it's a happy new year. At least it will be when we ring in the new year. A little later in the week, as the Buccaneers have blasted the Carolina Panthers and gotten the help that they needed that many of us expected. It was not easy, Oh no, had them all the way. The Washington Commander's victory on Sunday night over the Atlanta Falcons means the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are right back in first place. Shout out to all of you. The sky is balled like, oh my god, it's over. Your lost to the Dallas Cowboys. And the buck sideline guy came in on the Nothing but Bucks podcast last week and said.
Not over yet, not over yet. Atlanta still has.
To beat Washington at Washington or if the Buccaneers win the Carolina game, they're right back in the same spot ahead by a game with a game to play, And sure enough, seven days later, a blow out of Carolina that we're about to recap, a thrilling, crazy win by the Commanders over Atlanta puts the Bucks back in first place in the NFC South, and we now know when and you're in to go take the NFC South in the new year, coming on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints and host a playoff game. How does all of that sound on a victory Monday? One more victory Monday for twenty twenty four, the ninth win of the season, another winning season, on the verge of another playoff season. We love it here on nothing but Bucks. Thank you for finding me. As you can tell, I'm enthused. It's much different than coming in here seven days ago in selling the optimism of the Season's not over with yet. You've still got a great opportunity to win your final two games and get some help.
You've gotten that help.
And by the way, the Atlanta Falcons have had every opportunity to put the division away and have not been able to do it. With Kirk Cousins losing games. They couldn't win that game last night. But the Buccaneers coming off the bye week, beating the Giants, the dramatic, crazy overtime win over the Panthers, they all add up. You beat the Raiders, who've now suddenly won a couple of games, and now you win this game with Carolina the Bucks and the game with the Chargers.
That's the key game.
A playoff caliber AFC West team. You went out and blistered them a couple of weeks ago. The winning by the Buccaneers post by is why this is going to happen. You had to win your games and Todd Bowles and his team, Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans, Levante, David Videvea, Bucky Irving, that offensive line. These guys have gone and put the work in. Chase McLoughlin the kicker, let's not forget him as an automatic. They have put the work in and have now won five out of six since the bye week and have an opportunity to close it out winning a sixth game out of seven after the bye week. And again give credit words due to win the games at the right time. So more on the playoff implications of the upcoming final weekend Week eighteen coming in a little bit.
Again.
What we do here is we come in the day after Buccaneer games and give you the complete recap with highlights my postgame interviews. In a little while, you're gonna hear from Baker Mayfield. You're gonna hear from Jalen McMillan with two more touchdown catches. How good has that rookie been out of the University of Washington. You're gonna hear from head coach Todd Bowles, Graham Barton off that offensive line, Anthony Nelson off that defensive line, Zion McCullum in that backfield.
Hear all of.
Those conversations from our Hooters post game showing a little bit. We give you the highlights, we give you the interviews, we give you the full recap, and again full credit here to what this team has done. There were a lot of people once again writing off the Bucks at four and six going into the bye week with the heartbreaking losses to Atlanta and to Sanfrance, Cisco to coast end of the by Atlanta at one point, by the way, led by two and a half games with the tiebreaker in the Division two game lead, but had the tiebreakers, so it was essentially two and a half. So the fact that they are now for the second time a full game back tells you how well the Bucks played and how the Falcons frankly have screwed the pooch and have screwed it up here at the end of the year.
Again, I have much love.
For Raheem Morris personally and professionally for working for him in the time here. Raheem is fantastic. He's getting questioned for his clock management, etc. And the criticism that comes with the territory. You gotta win games, and the Buccaneers have been winning games at the end of this season, and they've got to win one more to get into the division race. All right, So let's do what we normally do. Set the scene on what was going on on Sunday again. It was a tough loss late Sunday night to Dallas as the Cowboys hung on for the twenty six t twenty four win, taking the ball away from Rashad White in the closing two minutes of the game on the fumble for the one last play. All right, what would this team look like? How would they look coming out against a Carolina team that had forced an overtime game and really, for all intents and purposes, had chances themselves to win that game. But let's say, look, don't change the narrative. The Buccaneers made all the plays at the end of regulation and in the overtime to win that game in Carolina and take it from the Panthers right down to Baker Mayfield scrambling on a bad leg to get you into field goal range. Chase McLoughlin making a fifty one yard field goal with no time left to force the overtime. Anthony Nelson in the first matchup with the Panthers strip fumble is him stripping the ball from Chewba Hubbard. You recover and then you've still got to get into field goal range, which the Bucks do and Rashad White helped them with that with the catch and run. I believe it was a catch and run and McLoughlin bangs through the winning field goal. Those were heroic plays in the first matchup with Carolina.
Well, now you have the rematch at home, and.
Yes the Panthers are depleted, but guess what kids you play with who you have?
There are not qualifiers on the standings.
It doesn't say on the standings on NFL dot com.
Nobody reads a newspaper anymore.
ESPN dot com or anywhere else seeing it on TV, it doesn't have an asterisk an asterisk by it saying beat a bad Carolina team for the ninth win. It doesn't say that nowhere does it say, you know, beat them with Kirk Cousins playing at quarterback, like what the Chargers got to do when they beat the Atlanta Falcons. Instead of playing against Michael pennix on and on down the list, you play with who you have.
The Dolphins had to win a playoff.
Battle game with the Cleveland Browns playing without Tuatangava Looa their quarterback. I mean, teams are beat up this time of year with injuries, guys out for the season. The Eagles had to win yesterday without Jalen Hurts or starting quarterback that were playing earlier this year. Without aj Brown and DeVante Smith are two receivers of the lineup. That's the game of the Buccaneers beat him. If I hear one more Eagle fan going, oh, we have ag Brown and Devonte you had who you had, you had Hertz, you had Sakuon Barkley, and the Bucks beat you in September period, So I realize injuries are part of this. The Buccaneers haven't had Chris Godwin since the middle of the year, and the Monday night game with Baltimore with the shattered leg, they didn't have Mike Evans for four full games and parts of two other ones with the bad hamstring against New Orleans and Baltimore. You basically haven't had Mike Evans for like most or all of six games.
What a difference that guy makes, by.
The way, in the lineup for your offense, you play with who you have. The Bucks have had injuries in their secondary. They're decimated with injuries in the secondary. Right now, again, you play with whoever you have left. You test your depth, your practic squad. You're young guys, your unproven guys who can get out there and win at the end of the season, like what the Rams have been doing out West, or the Vikings have been doing in the North in the NFC, and the Buccaneers have been doing the same thing, all right, So thank you for finding us again. However, you found us on the Buccaneers Mobile, Lap, Buccaneers dot Com, through our flagship station ninety eight Rock, the Buccaneer Affiliates, etc. We love bringing you the highlights of the broadcast. So the scene was set that the Bucks knew vital I kept using the word vital vital that you win this game at home with Carolina and set into motion the chance to win the NFC South, especially if the Falcons were to lose on Sunday night.
So step one was win this game.
Now, it's interesting that all weekend headed into New Year's Week here in the midwek It is always weird when New Year's is on a Tuesday or a Wednesday or a Thursday in the middle of the week, and it falls on the Wednesday this year. But all this past weekend Friday endo Saturday that we're talking about rain the Buccaneer game, rain coming across and frankly we knew this. We prepared with the rain gear. The CBS crew that was there, the Number two crew with Iron Eagle and Charles Davis. Great to see them. I put a picture up on social media on Facebook being with Charles before the game.
They had all of their crew with.
Pod shows ready, with tarps and covers on all their equipment down there because they knew the forecast was this is going to roll in likely in the first half of the game. Thankfully, in and around the middle of Tampa you didn't get a lot of rain in the early afternoon where it was storming to the north northern Hillsborough County, Pasco County, Citrus County and rolling all the way across the east. Bad thunderstorms rolled in and reac Havoc for about an hour and a half during the first half of the game. So we had no problems with that weather. We did know that it was a possibility it could come rolling in, and as we get into the highlights, which is what we do on nothing but Bucks, it was important to get some touchdowns early on in the game because you don't know what the weather's going to do. You don't know how much it changes the field condition being slick, wet ball, harder to throw, harder to catch, special teams in the weather. And so what do the Bucks do. They come out and go to work, just like they've done all year long. Kudos again to Liam Cohen with the script to those players executing Baker Mayfield as the point guard, if you will, of the offense, Bucky Irving running it, Mike Evans catching it as the Buccaneers worked Evans in Bucky with a couple of runs early on the game. Evans catches a nine yard ball you throw over the middle of paint Durham for thirty one yards.
You move down inside the five yard line, and this team has been so good. Goal to go, and here you go with the first of numerous times the Cannons were firing a line.
Of scrimmage of the two first down goal, Mayfield underserved Gray of partner the Bacchus Bucky Irvy dropping the bow close up dark cot Ball touched down Mike Kevin Buccaneer's lead six stove it firele.
That's touchdown catch number one hundred and four for Mike Evans. He does have one hundred and five in his career. He did have a fumble that he picked up and scored on also in his career. What a weapon, especially around the goal line with that catch radius. I know you got backup panther defensive backs of the game, but again, you play with who you have.
The Buccaneers don't have Chris Godwin is a receiver.
They don't have their number one tight end Kate Otton, they don't have Sterling Shepherd, who's won of Baker Mayfield's favorites on third down with an injury, and you still persevere and play with who you have. So the Bucks get it done the ninth time this year opening drive touchdown. This team went through the entire twenty twenty three season with Dave Canalis at the controls as the offensive coordinator and mostly the same personnel, and could score an opening drive touchdown once not once in twenty twenty three. You have nine games now where it's happened. Tremendous job by Liam Cohen is planning his screen up to their preparation.
So there's the opening touchdown of the game.
Now.
Unfortunately the defense was not locked in. Bryce Young. We knew he's been making some players.
Remember Young, the former number one overall pick, had gone to the bench. Dave Canalis saying, hey, we got to put him on the bench right now with how poor he was playing at the beginning of the year, because part of it is psychologically, you don't want to ruin it. You don't want to scar him forever. I mean, look at what's going on in Chicago with Caleb Williams, the former USC quarterback. You can damage the guy for his career if you keep it up. So he went to the bench and he Dalton came in and played a couple of games. Carolina won one of those games, but then Dalton actually got into a car accident. Somebody hit him his family was in the car, his wife, his kids. He injured his hand, he injured his thumb, so they forced Bryce Young back into the lineup due to injury, and he's really responded with the second chance, the new lease in coming back. He made some good throws again on Sunday, just like you did in the first matchup in Charlotte. You hit Adam Feeling down the Buccaneers sideline for thirty one yards. He then hit Cocher the receiver, for fifteen more and then that led to this the tying touchdown here for the Panthers.
Young surveys the secondary, takes a high snap, looks out under pressure by the Ammy, throws toward the end.
Zone, caught ball, touched down.
Carolina had him feeling two big catches on the opening drive by the Carolina Panthers, and boy did the Buccaneers have an easy drive to score of the opening touchdown.
Well, Bryce Young and the Panthers came right back down the.
Field again, not the scenario you wanted.
You got the start you wanted on offense, but you let Carolina march right down the field seventy yards in six plays and get right back.
In the end zone out of the Buccaneers credit.
They went right back to work and moved the ball again, with Bucky Irving running it solidly for four for five, and then Irving got a first down on a third and one and Devin Cult the rookie tight end, another middle to late round pick the Buccaneers have found, makes the catch for twenty.
Six yards down inside the red zone.
Unfortunately, though, Irving got smashed, tried to get on the perimeter and lost four yards.
Then Rashad White got a little bit of a game.
You were backed up by a penalty, and then you end up having to kick a Chase McLoughlin field goal. Again, don't take him for granted, we don't have the highlight gear, but he continues to kick fieldals. You would have liked to have had seven there. You only got three. But the Buccaneers will take it with two scores on the opening two drives. And then the Buccaneer defense also begins to come around as we pick the highlights back up with Gene and Dave. The pass rush against turn loose.
Here.
Later on in the first four empty bank field, Bryce Young kicks the left leg, drops back the bow. Here comes fresh peace, kind of go down. Peace sack back at the seventeen yard line and Elijah Canci boy like a love of Moody, went through that deep muffets of line and swabbered Bryce Young for an eleven yard loss.
Eliza Cansey gets that sack.
Elijah now leading the Buccaneers with seven and a half sacks on the season. And again you force another punt for Carolina. You're able to drive down and get another McLoughlin field goal. You would have again liked to have had a touchdown. Once again, a penalty kind of undid you. Once you got inside the red zone after you had gotten the first down on an eleven yard play, there was a defensive penalty and Cameron Johnson had to run around the end for eleven yards. They added the penalty yard to john for the illegal use of hands. Mayfield then scrambled and got a couple of yards. Then on third and eight he grew deep to Devin Coulp and the end zone incomplete. So McLoughlin bang threw another field goal and the game is thirteen to seven. Again, you got in the red zone twice, did not get the touchdown, and you were wondering, is that gonna be a problem.
Is that going to come back to haunt you?
It was not reeing out again for Carolina, and the Buccaneers are to go back to work after that, including Buckeye buck Ye Bucky, Bucky.
Irving returns now fistal for nature, Baker Mayfield and Rashad Whiners in there as well. He'll swig in the motion they take the Jets, we hand the ball off, the bucket gets outside going table a pot out front thirty thirty five to the forty outside the numbers, fifty outside the numbers to the forty five yard line, and he's knocking of bounds to the buccaneer Bncheria pig gain by Bucky Irving and a tremendous block by Trysted works to spring him.
Outside thirty three yards on that run.
As Irving was closing in on one thousand, looking to be the first Buccaneer since Doug Martin in twenty fifteen to get one thousand yards in a season, it has been a minute. Irving again here on this play is able to get the Buccaneers right down in the scoring range.
Buck You needs six four yards to reach one thousand, a half of a thirty three yard gallop first down ten of Carolina thirty nine mayfield play action, fake dumps, the ball off caught by bucket, every left side cut, a blocker inside the forty thirty five, thirty twenty five, twenty fucking irvy, fucking irvy, bucking Irving.
Is it a touchdown? It is not a touchdown out of bounds right at the pylon.
Bucky Irving is over one thousand yards rushing in his rookie season.
Jan Love the calls of Gene and Dave on ninety eight Rock and our buccaneer affiliates on Buccaneers Radio. Great, how good has this team been in the screen game? Get him into space, Irving, Get DaShan White into space. They utilized Chris Godwin all the time on those screens. Work at the Starling Shepherd, Work it to Jalen McMillan, whomever. Get the blockers in front. Great downfield blocking not only by Ben Rettison, the left guard, but also Ryan Miller blocking downfield. Jalen McMillan blocking downfield. I thought Bucky had scored live they called him out at the one yard line. The Buccaneers elected to run right up to the.
Line of scrimmage. Though not challenge the play.
It would have had to have been a challenge because the play is not automatically reviewed by New York because they didn't call it touchdown. But the Bucks were undaunted, came right up to the line and got right back in the end zone again.
First out and goal from the one pass the left side, caughtball, Myke Covine touchedown. Tampa Bay Buccaneers gonna touchdown low for Baker Mayfield.
Evans has two and it's nineteen to seven.
That's Mike Evans is one hundred and fifth touchdown catch that passes Tim.
Brown and Don Hudson on the all time list.
Now as Mike's accolades the future Hall of Famer continue, and the game is now twenty to seven at that stage, and you're really feeling good, especially about how the Buccaneers are putting touchdowns on the board, scoring drives on the board, you get the ball back, and how I mean you just you need more of Bucky Irving. We need more of Bucky Irving in our lives for the holidays, like more gifts under the tree are in the stocking.
Here's more Bucky, as Gene called it.
In motion with Kenjurrett slapped to the left side.
Now shotgun snapped two if he has the ball out running up that got wiggling his way outside the keeping his balance and taking away to the forty seven yard len is Bucky Irvy for there's no.
Way he should have been able to get a one yard, let alone a gain of six or seven. He gets a gain of seven. Now drawplay.
Now the Bucky fights his way for the first down six thanks to the left he's kind of first own.
Remarkable run again by Bucky Irvy.
MLMA buffet ears with another first out.
If we're on the move.
Irby now has one thousand yards on the season. Eighty six of those yards today on sixteen carries.
Just too much of number seven.
How fun is that, rookie, and that would eventually lead to this, which is once again Mayfield finding Jalen McMillan in the plus territory of the red zone.
Shotgun look Baker Mayfield in motion. Bucky Irving looks one way, looks at the other. Those one of the Masherah caught touchdown Tampa Bay.
It's Jilt McMillan. Game in a row.
What rook he has caught a touchdown, fifth touchdown in four games for McMillan, the former U DUB Husky. What is it with the U dub pipeline between Vita Vea, Kay Dotton, Joe Tryon, show Yanko who you're gonna hear later on Washington on the diagonal, opposite side of the continent from where we are in Tampa Bay. But man, oh man, this I mean Baker Mayfield on point the game in the game nine for nine, there's.
Another touchdown pass.
Now you're comfortably in front twenty seven to seven, and you're thinking, Okay, what does Carolina have left now to Dave Canalis his team's credit, Rice Young, Adam Feelin, they kept fighting, he found feeling with another deep ball touchdown. And I'm just gonna say this on nothing but Bush, You've got to clean up the confusion in the back end. Jordan Whitehead is a veteran safety back from injury.
I know it's not only on him, but on that deep bault you're the deep safety.
You cannot let Adam Feelin run by a dB and just not get over there to make the play immediately, decisively, immediately.
You got to be right there with Feeland.
Knocking that ball away, and that's what led to head coach Todd Bowles at halftime after the Panthers had scored there and they actually got the ball back and we're trying to get into field goal range again, but couldn't get quite close enough for Eddie Piniro to have a makeable kick. He ends up missing on the final play of the half. So the game is twenty seven fourteen. And I think a lot of you are probably aware the coach. This was everywhere, at least on social media, and I know people were pointing out that the coach said at halftime when I asked him, what are you going to talk about on defense after giving up those long pass plays, he says, we got some dbs that need to get their heads out of their asses.
That's exactly what he said on the halftime interview.
The coach was blunt and summed it up because he knew Carolina was getting the ball first to start the second half, and so you wanted to see better defense out of the locker room from the team, and that's exactly what we did see as the Buccaneers tuned things back up, getting after Bryce Young here in the third quarter.
Bryce Young under pressure. He sacked, Is he down? Did he passed the ball? Is an incomplete mass?
Yeah? Yeah, the Yabby heading by the angles. He fell there and just got rid of the ball before his body hit the turn. Quarterback sack at the thirty eight yard line. Yeah yeah, the Abby has this first sack in a while, the second sack of the game. When the Buccaneers comes here in the third quarter, feeling in motion, pistol formations, dropping back to thow. Bryce shot trips to he sacked again. He slipped and fell at great gain or Anthony Nelson. Anthony Nelson comes up with a quarterback sack. That's back to back sacks.
So those have been very rare.
So you get those back to back sacks.
And now you roll through with your first drive of the second half after a punt had pinned the Buccaneers back at the six yard line. How undaunted were where the Buccaneers yet again? Ninety four yards away? Game still twenty seven fourteen. If you don't get first downs and you give the ball back, Caroline is still very much in the game. But Baker just mixed it up. He finds Jalen McMillan for nine yards on a catch then McMillan on the Jets sweep runs for nine yards. Then Bucky Irving with a catch and run for sixteen more yards. We don't have that on the highlights. McMillan again catches for fifteen yards over the middle. You just moved down the field and eventually in goal to go, you tried to find McMillan in the flat. The Panthers made a good play to stop him on second and goal. Now we pick up the highlights here in the third quarter. It's third in goal, leading twenty seven to fourteen.
The far side had Rashad White on third down and goal. Here's a running back shot gun look. Evans has two touchdowns. He lines up to the light and motion Rishad White dropping maybe to start the ends up flight over a cot Baull touchdown. Pay Durup touchdown Tampa Bay Cannons.
Payne Durham's first touchdown in the NFL comes here in week seventeen of his second season. And then he launched the ball in the crowd and the Buccaneers eventually brokeered a deal with the fans, the father and son to come down and get some goodies to give the ball back to Payne Durham for the rookie as that.
Touchdown now really gave you breather.
And the other thing he did is it used up about seven minutes of the clock as well. You've worked it down under the six minute mark of the third quarter. You get the touchdown to lead thirty four to fourteen, and you're feeling good. Now at this point, you've done enough offensive damage. Just tighten up on defense. The Buccaneers did that. Panthers did get an early first down, but then the Bucks stopped them on third down. With Bryce Young growing incomplete. I really thought, honestly, after that touchdown had made the game at that sta age thirty four to fourteen, they might go for it. I mean, the Panthers come into the game at four and eleven, they're down thirty four to fourteen.
Why punt?
Why not just try to go for it late in the third quarter when you're gonna need three touchdowns anyway, Well, they elect to punt, and you know what's coming. First, there was a duck on the field. You're gonna hear that in the highlight call. Then the duck becomes a lucky duck for the special teams of the Buccaneers five.
But it's thirty seconds left third four Tampa Bay Buccaneers will they thirty four to fourteen lead.
There's a duck on the field. Is that bucky or ducky? It's ducky, Irbie.
Here's the staff of Petrick all the pudner's clock scoop rap the twenty to the town touched up. Tampa Bay Bucks block the putton. JJ Russell stooped up. It scores a lucky ducky. Yeah, that was good because that duck was gonna get run over.
But we've been waiting for a while for one of those moments. Yes, the duck was next to Trey Palmer in punt formation. He kind of looked over like what the heck. I looked at Trey and saw the duck, and then I saw Joe tryon show yank when I look back to the right, as a blur off the left end off the right wing of Carolina's punt punt team and JJ Russell Johnny on the spot to pick it up and run it in. That's the first block punt returned for a touchdown since Adam Hayward. Shout out to Adam Hayward in twenty twelve against the Chargers, the then San Diego Chargers. I believe Adam blocked that punt himself and then picked it up and ran it in. He certainly ran it in, and it joins a list of some other Buccaneers, by the way, that I've done that, including the likes of Ricky Reynolds previously, Geno Hayes ran one in.
On a block punt.
Ronda Barber, by the way, a couple of times on a block punt running them in.
So great company.
Now for JJ Russell, my Memphis Tiger from another mother here on nothing but Bucks picking that one up. Great hustle by tryon show Yanka. We had noticed earlier in the game. What don't we know that the Bucks almost got through and blocked the punt on the right side of the Carolina Special teams. Earlier in the game it was Devin Colp who broke through. He just didn't quite lay out to block the Johnny Hecker punt. The Bucks got it there, and it's basically game over at that point forty one to fourteen. Just run the clock, Buccaneers force another three and out, get the ball back, grinding the clock again for another eighty five yards with Rashad White running it, with Bucky Irving running it. You work through the third quarter, you work the clock down, and then you eventually are going to get in the end zone once more. Here with about thirteen minutes to play, third down.
And two now from the sixteen, Mayfield shotgun. Let's come. He through the fotball, it's.
Inside the ten. Tell Us go Lie touchdown, Tampa Bay. Jalen McMillan, fire the cannons. The rookie does it again.
Jalen McMillan six touchdown in the last four games. My goodness, he's become a target.
Doesn't matter.
I mean, Mayfield's gonna go to whomever he needs, whether he was having to utilize Kate Otton, Ryan Miller, Sterling Shepherd, while while both Evans and God would have hurt. Now the rookie McMillan coming on. You've got Payne Durham, find the weapons out of the backfield, Bucky Rasehan White, and you can saw some Sean Tucker running the ball hard at the end of this game.
Two many weapons for the Buccaneers.
And how brilliant has Mayfield played ben at quarterback for this team so that pumps the lead to forty eight fourteen, eye opening second half, and the Buccaneer defense continue to tune it out, back to the highlights one more time here and a little Alabama on Alabama crime.
They're gonna reach the Buccaneers twenty eight yard line, dropping out, Hey bubbles a buffle, it's loose, it's picked up by a hope. Carolina return overs the ball, but a quarterback sack by Braswell that time, and he horses.
The fumble recovered by Carolina. That'll bring up fourth down.
Chris Braswell the rookie out of Alabama sacking Bryce Young. Theyor fifth sack on the day, and again Buccaneer defense shuts out Carolina. Bucks takeover after Carolina loses the ball on downs and they proceed to kill the final seven and a half minutes.
Carolina basically uncled.
Buccaneers pick up some first downs, running it with the reserves in the game, kneel on the ball three times after the two minute warning.
Game is over.
Very impressive forty eight fourteen win. This is what you were supposed to do. You were supposed to come in and take care of business against Carolina and then set yourselves up for what would happen on Sunday Night football with the Commanders and the Falcons. As you know by now as we're here on Monday, Washington did win that game. We did not know it on Sunday afternoon in the aftermath of the game. But the key is the first step belonged to the Buccaneers win the game with Carolina, a team that had given you problems a few weeks earlier. Again, as I said earlier in the pod, they don't qualify these things. There's not gonna be a footnote on the standings Ledger that says the Buccaneers beat bad Carolina and bad New Orleans to win the South and make the playoffs.
It just says nine and seven and.
Next week if you win ten and seven, and that will be good enough to win the division. All right, So let's go inside the Buccaneer locker room here after this was over with on our Hooters postgame show on ninety eight Rock, our Buccaneer affiliates the Buccaneer Mobile lap Baker Mayfield obviously thrilled with the way he played and with the offense and what they were able to do in a stirring victory. Why were you guys so good right from the jump offensively as you scored on the first five drives of the game.
It starts up front.
Those guys were locked in about the looks that we were going to get and the pressures, certain things like that, and so it starts with those guys up front. After that, obviously, after the run game, establishing that and then staying cleaning the pocket, those guys are getting open.
For you say enough about Bucky Irving and how that helps things. The way that kid runs, how tough he runs after contact, and does it not open up so many other things that you want to do?
It really does. I mean between obviously the run game, him breaking tackles if it's not a perfectly blocked run, and it rarely is. But then yeah, just him having the ability to make explosive plays in the run end pass games huge for us.
You found Mike Evans early for a couple of touchdowns in this game. Everybody knows he's trying to get to eleven thousand. The most important thing is to win. But were you guys looking to feature him some getting rolling early in the game.
I am for sure.
I mean, he's a huge part of this offense. Obviously, the record is extremely special, but he's a huge part of why we win games, and so that's the most important part.
What about Jalen McMillan. He has come on now with six touchdowns in the last four games. Why has he been so effective? What's going on with that situation? Him being open?
You find it.
He's just he's continued to progress throughout the season. That's what you look for in a rookie, and he's handled it the right way, being detailed and doing the right things. And so he's taking advantage of it all right.
Now, everybody becomes the biggest Washington Commander fans outside of the nation's capital right tonight. That's the second big domino, right obviously.
Yeah, it is.
So, I mean, hopefully I'll get some help tonight, but if not, we just got to move on to next week. And I mean we're still playing to win next week anyway, and we'll see what happens.
Congratulations, thank you, appreciate.
Baker Mayfield with a five touchdown day to day, including three hundred and fifty nine yards. Again, Bucky Irving in this one comes up with one hundred and thirteen yards rushing. He also had seventy seven yards receiving. We're live here on Buccaneers Radio. Congratulations on the win. Why were you guys so good offensively in the first half, Bucky, where you scored all first five times you had the ball.
I mean, we know what type of team whe is when we start fast. There's been able to execute our plays that we worked on during the week, just going out there and playing fast.
You say enough about the line giving you openings and then what you do after that with breaking tackles, et cetera.
But how about this this front line in front of you.
I may I always get them guys credit, always say I think them guys should get interviewed more. They do a great job and practice they do, and then they just bring it over to the game. I trust them guys to make the holes on me. And when I trust my track, good things happen.
What does it say for this team to bounce back like this after Sunday night?
I mean, we put on a tape and see what we could get better at, and then we put that game to bed twenty four hour and then we got back to work.
And then obviously it goes without saying, but I'm gonna say it. You gotta be the biggest Washingt Commander fans right now in the Tampa Bay area. Go get the Falcons, and then now things are set up for next week. Right, go, Commanders, right, go, command this.
Here we go. There's Bucky Irving with us as this one is done. We'll keep it right here.
On Buccaneers Radio in the aftermath of a forty eight to fourteen win on our Hooters postgame show, I promised Jalen McMillan, did I not last Sunday night. I'm coming to you right away after the game with Dallas again. Same question I just asked to both Baker and Bucky Irving. Why was this offense so good from the jump today with five scoring drives in a row in the first time.
I mean, it's a lot of things. The belief we have in each other, the way the coach is believe in us, the way we practice, the way we approach every single day. It all just comes into one day, and you know, we just get to show everybody to finish product.
You got open in the back of the end zone for one of Baker's five touchdown passes. Tell me about that play and just staying alive on that play to be open in the back of the ends.
Yeah, the play, the ball is supposed to be going to the strong side, and you know, I always have that mindset of just staying alive and making sure that I'm ready for the ball when it comes to me. So you know, I knew number two was gonna be asleep because he thought it was gonna be a pass, and got my leverage right away and just made sure Baker got friendly.
Bought to me, this was still somewhat of a game. At twenty seven to fourteen. You guys are ninety four yards away from the end zone at the six yard line. Bucky did a lot of it, but you guys finish off with the touchdown to make the game at that point thirty four to fourteen. Tell me about that drive and then that just really demoralized Carolina at that point, man.
I mean, of course it did.
At the end of the day, it was just all about execution. And then I mean, of course, coach calling the right plays and I'm putting us in great positions to be great. So I mean it was just a coaches and players thing right there.
So yeah, you should know this. I and others. I'm not the only one I've been saying.
Jalen McMillan has done big things in the PAC twelfth title game and in the College Football Playoff last year.
We saw that.
I know we're a long way away from the University of Washington Tampa, but we saw that you have come on at the end of the year. Why why have once again when the Chips are down in the big games, Why are you having the same success like you had last year at the end of the college season.
God in my family, at the end of the day, you know, this team is great and everybody here in this building is also great. But I can't be great for them if I don't make the correct decisions to be great for myself. And at the end of the day, I'm surrounding myself at peace. I'm learning. I'm learning what it is to be a great NFL. I'm following Mike, I'm following Chris. I'm learning from what these older guys are doing, and I'm just applying it to my life. So I just gotta thank God, you know, just helping me out and just always being on my corner.
And you obviously also heard from Jalen McMillan there as well after that night, or actually you also heard from Bucky Irving there after that night that Bucky had Bucky again goes over one thousand yards. It's the first rookie with a thousand yard season since Doug Martin also in twenty twelve, the first thousand yard rushing season of any kind since Doug Martin again in twenty fifteen.
What a weapon.
Irving finished with one hundred and thirteen yards on twenty carries, and Bucky also seventy seven yards on four catches out of the backfield. How about nearly two hundred yards from scrimmage. Hello, it does start up front with the offensive line, and we're going to hear more about that in a few minutes. Back to Mayfield, though, with the five touchdown passes, that's the eighth time in his career four or more touchdowns in the game. And Baker now poised to finish in the top ten in completions, yards and touchdowns this season. Gonna be a nice contract bonus for him. What a season he has had, and for anybody that doubted this guy and the way he played down the stretch of last season as to whether he would validate it with the New York with a new contract.
Hello, put the band back.
Together with him getting paid, Mike Evans getting paid, and look at how that delivered again on Sunday against Carolina.
That combination.
You'll hear from Mike here in a little bit as well on our Hooters postgame show. Just a blast, a blast to be part of this here on Sunday. So let's go to the defensive players here. Let's talk a little bit about the defense and Anthony Nelson papak new papa, second baby born just recently right before the first Carolina win. You're gonna hear from him off the defensive line and Zion McCullum off the secondary as we talked to both of them on our Hooters postgame show after this win over Carolina.
Tell me more about how and why this team was able to get it done so impressively.
Yeah, I think it's just speaks to our fight. No matter what happens, we stay together. We play for each other, and when it gets rolling, he gets rolling for us. We were definitely playing for each other and that pushed us through the whole game.
This defense gave up a touchdown late in the first half, gave up some yards, they missed the field goal, all right, So what got talked about at halftime because you shut him out in the second half and shut him down.
I mean, it was pretty much just we got to step up, We got to do our job offenses rolling obviously put up forty eight points, but yeah, we got to step up to do our job and and could let him get big plays and getting after him in the pass rush and all that stuff. So it was just I mean, like I said, we just came together, got some pride, and we were able to shut it down, which is really good.
How much did you learn from game one with Bryce Young's ability to escape the pocket some and keep plays a lot, because you did a pretty good job of keeping him in the pocket and getting him on the ground this time, right.
Yeah, I mean he's a great player. He can move, he can throw it. Threw some gray balls in the first half, and yeah, we knew that he was going to be dynamic with his legs being able to extend plays and then hit it down the field. So that was definitely in the back of our mind, and we were able to corral him as much as possible and you know, force the Ministum sacks and force the Minissm throwaway.
So it was good, all right.
Two more, it was vital to get this because now the Commander's game takes on huge significance tonight with Atlanta. Tell me more about that, because then that means you control your own destiny. If Washington wins, tell me more about the good feeling, especially if Washington gets that tonight.
Yeah, I mean, we took a step in the right direction, and I'll say that. And at the end of the day, whatever happens happens. But all we gotta focus on now is enjoy this win and then tomorrow returning the page. And we got to win this next one, and no matter what happens tonight, we're gonna have to win that next one to give ourselves a good shot. So that's gonna be our focus, and we're not gonna worry too much about the results.
Love that.
And then one more, Baby Eli comes on the scene and you're now five and one. The Dundon Nelson's with Baby Eli, you're now five and one.
Yeah, he's a good luck charm. I'll tell him one day he was a good luck charm. And I'm sure he'll appreciate it one day. Right now, it's just a couple him with mama and taking naps, So I love it.
Hey, listen, congratulations, great plan. Thank you? Yeah?
Are you?
Anthony Nelson had one of the five sacks for the Buccaneers in the game today, as the Buccaneer defense again shut Carolina out in the second half of this one. We will keep it right here for just another moment. Zion McCullum is talking to the media. Also, we're giving the defense some love after this forty eight fourteen win. We'll listen in and try to get a question or two.
It's a great feeling when you got guys that are receptive, that are be vibing off of each other and moving forward.
And you said you kind of have a mini watch party plan for other Commanders Falcons games tonight.
Oh yeah, for sure. I'm a Commander fan right now, big time, Zion.
We joined you late on Buccaneers Radio. Same thing I just asked to Anthony Nelson. Why was the defense so good in the second half. You had a couple of touchdowns that Adam Feelam got to what was different in the second half of the defense?
Yeah, yeah, I mean we got to hear in the second half, and voices are being heard everywhere. You know, guys are stepping up. You know, it's intense. Everybody's yelling around, making sure you guys are ready and understanding of how big this game is. And everybody's stepped up to that challenge.
Along those same lines. Off a tough loss in Dallas. How reassuring is it to play this well for four quarters today?
It's very reassured. I mean getting back to who we are and who we know we can be, and like I said, getting back to those details and playing together as a defense. You know, we've had guys banged up in and out of the lineup all year. It's nothing new man next man of mentality and everybody just has that chip on their shoulder.
Got to give the defense some love for the way that they played in the second half of the game. All right, now to the offensive line and Graham Barton and on our Hooters post game show, you're gonna hear from all of these different guys. Graham Barton talking offensive line, then head coach Todd Bowles with his postgame comments, and then Mike Evans as well. And on the backside, we'll tell you more about what Mike needs coming up for history with the way that he played. But let's go to those interviews now from our Hooters postgame show on ninety eight Rock and our Buccaneer Affiliates with Graham Barton leading things off, Baker Mayfield and Bucky Irving just said, Hey, it starts up front. Tell me more about the job that this offense did, starting with you five guys up front.
Yeah, I mean, just you know, we've had several games this year or you know, home game, come out first drive, score a touchdown.
And just sort of set the tone for the game.
I think we did that again today, sort of just established the line of scrimmage. You know, it's just you know, finding success early and being able to carry out through the game. I thought we did a good job sustaining through all four quarters, something we haven't done quite so much this year. So just be able to find that continued success was awesome, continued you know, execution. So just proud of the guys. You know, we played hard today and yeah, came out with a win. That's all that matters.
Can you say enough about Bucky Irving? He's a rookie, this is the back half of the season.
So are you You guys aren't used to playing like fourteenth fifteen, sixteenth game and that dude just continues to run hard. How much does it inspire an offensive line?
Yeah, you know, it's it's awesome to see big runs pop, like like Bucky you know, did today and every day.
You know, it makes us makes our.
Jobs a lot easier when we got backs like Bucky and her shot and Tucker. So just having guys back there that have found success and are elusive, hard to bring down, understand the scheme and where we're trying to, you know, hit these runs, it's just really beneficial. Makes us as offensive line and look better. And uh yeah, it's it's been awesome.
This is your first goal around.
But what about Baker Mayfield, who what we saw him do tremendous things at the end of last year and into the playoffs. You're in that huddle during the week and during these games, say some more about number six, who had a five touchdown day again today.
Yeah, just fearless gunslinger if you will not afraid to go put it all on the line, not afraid to let it fly, and loves getting an after in the run game. You know, I think just having a quarterback who appreciates, you know, just moving the ball four or five yards at a time, just running in between the tackles, and you know, it's it's it's an attitude and I think, you know, his attitude sort of what's the word like, you know, breeds into everyone else, bleeds into everyone else. So just having having a guy like that, having a fearless leader back there is really beneficial for us. And you know, we love them, so we uh we try to protect them as best we can.
This is where it gets really fun. Obviously, you guys have won.
You're now watching tonight and everybody in Tampa Bay watching tonight and all Bluck fans everywhere to see if the Commanders get it done and then you would control your own destiny against the Saints on Sunday. This is what it's all about, trying to make the postseason, trying to get into the playoffs, right.
Yeah, I mean, just you know, either way, we just we gotta win next week. So you know, obviously obviously we're all gonna be, you know, watching some football tonight, but you know, our are are really no matter what, we gotta win next week to punch our tickets, So just just you know, gotta move on to the Saints. Enjoy this one and watching football tonight, but just you know, move on to folks on getting a win next week.
Great playing you and your mates. Thank you for the time here, Graham bart Yep, thank you guys. There he is immediately after this is done. In a forty eight to fourteen win. Head coach Todd Bowles is going to be available here coming up in a couple of moments. We'll keep it right here on the Hooters postgame show. A couple of other accolades. Five Buccaneers sacks by five different defenders today, and obviously the block punt was a huge deal as well. Joe tryon show Yanka blocked it. JJ Russell picked it up and ran it in in the third quarter. That's the first blocked punt touchdown for the Buccaneers since twenty twelve, when Adam Hayward picked up a block punt. I believe Adam blocked that ball himself and picked it up and rented in. We'll have to double check that, but hey, we're clearly ran it in for the touchdown. That's the last block punt TD score in Buccaneer history that energized the team even further, made the game at that point thirty four to fourteen, or it may have even made the game forty one to fourteen at that point, and the Buccaneers never looked back with an easy forty eight fourteen victory here this afternoon to do their part the first of three steps that need to happen, a couple of Buccaneer wins and at least one Atlanta loss. And so the Bucks do their part in game number one, and head coach Todd Bowles is with us after it's done. Boy, very impressive, especially in the second half. Let's begin there with why your team pulled away after a twenty seven to fourteen halftime lead to win going away forty eight to fourteen.
Coach, stop shooting ourselves in the foot offensively from a penalty standpoint, defensively from a coverage standpoint, and cleaned everything up at halftime. They came out, played a strong second half.
The ninety four yard drive's going to be looked at to the positive. A bunch Bucky Irving is a lot of that, including the great catch and run down to the one yard line of forty three or forty four yard play on that one. How much did that inenthuse your team? How much to come out of your own end and go get seven points like that? How much did that assist go.
Get seven points? Was huge, especially coming out of the half. Defense got off the field, the offense got the ball back and made a great drive, time consuming drive and the drive of the defense and it got everybody going all right.
Enormous special teams play. We haven't said this in twelve years. For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A blocked punt touchdown return Joe Tryon shoe Yanka came off the left side to get the block. JJ Russell picked it up. Humongous play. Obviously, tell me more about the play.
Huge effort by Joe. Obviously you can get a bunch of punts off and before you know it if you have a lapse in protection. We took advantage of it. Great job by t Mac coaching them to get that block right there, and JJ scooped it up and scored.
What is that moment like for a coach because you maybe you're knowing, you may be thinking about, Okay, where are we going to get the ball? We gotta go to oh wait a minute, now it's blocked. You hear the thud, The crowd roars. What's that like for the head coach?
To have that happen for a coach is very exciting because it's all hustle plays there. For a special teams coach is like hitting the Mega millions lot or I mean, you don't see that very much. So when a special teams coach gets a block, I mean, coach tmack almost did a backflip there. But it was great. It was a great energy for our team.
This is my twentieth year of doing this. I've been at Raymond James Stadium for virtually every Buccaneer game.
I don't ever remember a duck flying onto the field.
The duck flew on the field beside Trey Palmer right before the block punt. I don't know if you've ever had that in your career. We're calling the duck the Lucky duck because it led to the block punt. Second second year seconds later that the block punt happened. Weird occurrence. The duck is part of the narrative.
I guess I think it was Bucky's pet, just because he came from the University of Oregon true and the duck flew in and he didn't have a seat, so he decided to get on the field and sit down and watch the game up close.
Look at the coach coming through with the one line pick me up on that? Can you say enough about Baker Mayfield? Five more touchdown passes today, a near perfect one to fifty three quarterback rating. I mean, we could I say this two all the time. We could sit here for ten minutes and talk about the plays, the decisions, the throws.
Right now, was standing in ballgame by Baker. He's the head of the snake. He gets us going, he gets everybody lined up, he checks the plays for us, and he played a flawless game today.
Defensively, you end up with five sacks. Five different Buccaneers got sacks. Why was the pass rush so effective, especially in the second half?
Took away to running game, made him one dimensional. Obviously, they didn't bust any more coverages in the second half, made him hold the ball a bit and those guys got after it right.
One negative. Jamel Dean left the game with a knee injury. Do we have any update on how serious that is at the moment, are still trying to figure it out.
Not at this time.
We're still trying to figure it out.
All right, now, for your team, we knew this was step one. This was vital get the win step two. The Washington Commanders and the Atlanta Falcons tonight.
I have a feeling.
I don't know all the plans, but I have the feeling part of the plans will be for you, your staff. You're gonna be checking this game out tonight to see what's gonna happen, and we all become Commanders fans. The Buccaneer fans immediately become Commanders fans tonight.
Right, Yeah, everybody's gonna watch the game obviously, but again, we have to win next week the rest of the chance again.
And again for your team to come back home and do this. It's not everything, but how much does it bolster your confidence? Now with one game to go in the regular.
Season, that was a huge win coming off a tough loss. To come back here and play in front of the home crowd and everybody play well, especially in the second half. It was a big win for us.
Before we go, Mike Evans two more touchdown catches again today ninety seven yards are telling me he needs right around like eighty eight, eighty seven, eighty eight yards to get to the thousand for the eleventh consecutive year. Can you say enough about what he helped establish in this game, including a couple of touchdown catches.
Big time cats is big time touchdown catches for us, big time catches to get us first downs. When you don't double them, I mean it's Mike or Bucky. You gotta double somebody. If you crowd in the line, it's Mike. If you double Mike as a bucket. So it's been in developing the heck of won two punch.
We like that, coach.
Congratulations, enjoy it. We appreciate it. Here after a forty eight fourteen win.
Thank you.
There is head coach Todd Bowles who locks up another winning season. By the way, as the Buccaneers seek to make the playoffs, it would be the first time ever that the Buccaneers have made the playoffs five times in a row. If they are able to get it and again, help has to come in the form of a Washington Commanders win. Now this is interesting too. It's just two Buccaneer wins and one Atlanta defeat. Atlanta will play Carolina in week eighteen, and of course we just saw Carolina here today and they were pretty well decimated in this one. We'll keep it right here on the Hooters post game show for a moment as Mike Evans is talking to the media, and we will try to get over with a microphone in.
Mike. We just joined you here on Buccaneers Radio.
Can you talk about the offense just overall and how successful it was in the first half to have five straight scoring drives.
We had a great week of preparation. Everybody may plays the olone did their thing and you know, Bag did this thing as usual.
Can you say enough about Baker Mayfield? The accuracy getting the football where it has to be.
His big ball placement was top tier today. He ran when he had to, He didn't have to run much. May plays. I mean, he does what he's been doing for the last couple of seasons for us.
Can you say enough about Bucky Irving and how that opens up the rest of the offense when that young man is running and breaking tackles and doing it.
I mean, he's a different type of running back, extremely hard to tackle than find. I mean, unbelievable talent, no steal it a draft.
What does it mean for this team to respond off a tough loss in Dallas seven days later and play like this today.
It means a lot.
I mean, that was our goal and we're happy we went out there accomplish it.
Forty eight to fourteen the final some other notes. By the way, Now, for the Buccaneers, that was the tenth time they've had over four hundred yards of offense this season. That leads the National Football League in front of the Ravens with nine of them. That is the third five hundred yard offense game of the season that leads the NFL. Detroit could tie that if they get five hundred yards in the game with the forty nine ers, it would be their third on Monday Night football. But I mean the Buccaneer offense, this is the Golden Age. This is the premier Buccaneer offense that we've ever seen with these kind of numbers. Buccaneers get two two hundred yards rushing in a game again for the fourth time this season. Bucky was tremendous running for those again, and I believe that was what he is fourth one hundred yard game of the season, and he's now over one thousand yards on the year. Baker Mayfield now with thirty nine passing touchdowns. Only Tom Brady has forty touchdown passes in a season. He threw forty of them in the Super Bowl winning year of twenty twenty. He threw forty three more in the season in twenty twenty one. An incredible season, Mayfield can become just the second Buccaneer quarterback ever to get to forty touchdown passes with one more, and I think it's a pretty good bet he's going to get it. I think it's a pretty good bet that Mike Evans is going.
To catch one of them.
Look out for that coming on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. Just a tremendous job by him. By the way, if you're wondering, Doug Martin does hold the single season rookie rushing record with fourteen hundred and fifty four yards, and he did that in sixteen games. By the way, Bucky Irving with one thousand and thirty three is some four hundred yards behind him. Cadillac Williams is the only other rookie to have one thousand yards in a season. Shout out to Cadillac two thousand and five his rookie year, he ran for eleven hundred and seventy eight yards. So Bucky's just the third rookie to get past one thousand in a in a season. All right, Let's get to Mike Evans. The eight catches on Sunday for ninety seven yards. He has now passed Steve Larger on the all time receptions list. And as I mentioned, the one hundred and five touchdown catches is the twenty first most in NFL history. And Mike is arguably going to play a couple more years and if the stats keep up, he will easily get into the one twenties in touchdown catches and that's going to get the pretty rarefied air. By the way, Evans surpassed the sixty catch mark for the eleventh straight season. Jerry Rice, Derek Mason, and Travis Kelsey also in recent history with sixty catch seasons in eleven straight years. Incredible the numbers that are adding up for the future Hall of famer. And again, he needs eighty seven yards to get to one thousand in this final game with the New Orleans Saints. Only Jerry Rice has eleven straight one thousand yard seasons. Mike is the only player with ten of them at the beginning of his career and would obviously extend it with eleven straight one thousand yard seasons. At the beginning of his career, Rice did not have a thousand his rookie year. He then had eleven straight one thousand yard seasons. We always point this out. And then he got injured in Game one of the ninety seven season when Warren Sap grabbed him around the helmet, jerked him around illegally and tore his knee up and Sap his own that and apologized that it cost Jerry Rice basically that entire year. It cost him one thousand yard season. That stopped his streak. Mike can match the streak receivers. Ever, when you're thinking about Terrell Owens, Marvin Harrison, you know, start going down the all time greats, len Swan, Michael Irvin, whoever's got the numbers of all the thousand yard seasons throughout the NFL, Arn't Monk for the Washington then Redskins, Charlie Joyner, Steve Largin who we were talking about. Charlie Joyner with the Charger, Steve Largent with the Seahawks. All the great receivers piling up. I mean Kelsey now in the present day, or any of these other guys, Odell Beckham, his contemporaries, Davontae Adams, none of them, none of them will have eleven straight years of one thousand yards if Mike gets this with eighty seven more to go. I love Baker Mayfield saying, hey, I'm aware of it. We're gonna try to get it for him. As we talked to him on our postgame interviews, why would you not at this stage. Kudos to the Buccaneers and all of their offensive numbers. They're staggering offensive numbers that we are seeing, all right, So here are the most important numbers as we wrap it up. Nine and seven and a game in front of the Atlanta Falcons at eight and eight, which is what you had to have after the thrilling Sunday night win where Atlanta. I really thought the Falcons were going to go for two on the touchdown at the end of the game. And for those of you going, oh my god, you can't go for two there you put all the pressure on the commanders if you take the lead where they now know they have to go down and go get a field goal, and your defense is going to have to stop them no matter what, because even if the game is tied and the Commanders have a time out left, you got to stop them anyway to keep him from getting a field goal.
So put the pressure on them.
They did not go for two, and then Atlanta gets the ball back and the clock management at the end where Raheem didn't use a time out to help with field position. The kick from Riley Patterson looked good but it was short. Incredible and the memes are priceless of the Atlanta fans celebrating in the sports bar late Sunday night thinking the field goal was good because of how it looked on TV from Washington on NBC. In the end, the Commanders drive down the field get the touchdown. It is still the case, and I don't know how much longer that the opening drive touchdown ends the game in regular season overtime, and you have a different rule now for postseason overtime where both teams get to touch the ball even if there is a touchdown. But anyway, the Bucks will take it. They're now a full game in front, so that win clinched the playoffs for the Commanders. Now the Buccaneers need only to win or have Atlanta lose again. Atlanta will be playing Carolina this week. The NFL did announce Sunday night. As we kept saying, the games will be on at the same time on Sunday, and that will be one Eastern time, So Buccaneers hosting Saints, Falcons hosting Panthers both one Eastern time.
Buccaneer win ends it. They are the South champs.
If Carolina somehow bows their back and beats Atlanta, that ends it too. That's how bad the losses have been at the end of the year, how bad that overtime loss was to damage Atlanta.
They now have to win and hoe.
But more than likely it's the Buccaneers to beat up on the Saints, who've already fired coach Dennis Allen. The Saints did show some life a few weeks ago, but they've been bad the last couple of games, including losing to the Las Vegas Raiders at home in the Superdome. Spencer Rattler, the rookie quarterback, is in there. Buccaneers beat him in the Superdome, picked him off. Let's see come out, play a clean game. Do not turn it over, do not make penalties, do not miss tackles. Just fundamentally be sound, and you should be able to beat this team decisively and have an easy Sunday.
Nothing is ever guaranteed in the NFL. You got to put the work in. But this team was in this position a year ago with Baker Mayfield, with Rashad White, Evans and Godwin. In that case, Kate got in at tight end. Don't know if Kate can be back this week.
But Worf's on the offensive line, Cody Mack on the offensive line, lu Getikey on the offensive line, Videvea, Elijah Cansey, Anthony Nelson, the different pass rushers, Joe Tryon, Sho Yanka Yai, Yadiyabi, Leavonte David, they were all in this situation.
Last year.
You had a healthy Antwine Winfield, can Winfield come back and play in this final game. Let's see, all of these guys knew they had to go to Carolina and win the game. However, you could win it and everybody's oh, you only won the game nine to nothing. It doesn't matter again, folks, as long as you get the win. There are no qualifiers, there's not an asterisk. Just get the victory.
Doesn't matter if it's seven to six on Sunday with the Saints. Find a way, find.
A way to get to the tenth win, Punch your ticket, and then your home the following wildcard weekend for the playoffs. For the second straight year, we're looking forward to that. You've actually been at home in the wildcard round of the playoffs in each of the last three seasons before now interesting, the Commanders are now in the playoffs. The last time they were in the playoffs, they played in the Wildcard round and Tom Brady and the Buccaneers beat them in the empty stadium at Landover, Maryland to start the Super Bowl run.
Commanders are back in.
So the NFC playoff positions are now set for the wildcard teams, while the three wildcard teams are in I should say, with the Commanders, the Packers, and then either the Vikings or the Lions.
How crazy.
I don't know the Monday Night result as we released this podcast, but even if Detroit wins its winner take all next week at Ford Field on Sunday Night Football, where the winning team wins the NFC North and is the number one seed, the losing team will be likely coming to Tampa Bay in the four to five playoff game for the fourth division winner against the fifth seed, so stand by for that. In the scenarios. We'll see what Detroit does tonight. Minnesota still has to beat them though, no matter what, to win the North and to get a home game and potentially be the number one seed. Minnesota beating Green Bay in the late afternoon last week, So stay tuned, stay tuned as all of this has unfolded. Philadelphia has locked up the East the Rams by virtue of some other wins on Sunday after they one dramatically on Saturday night. The Rams have won the West. So the playoff position is getting locked up. And let's have the Buccaneers walk right through the open door here and win the South coming on Sunday.
All right, that's the task. We'll be on the air at noon in the New Year.
From Raymond James Stadium with the Saints coming in and the Bucks need only to win to win the South and win a tenth game. We'll have the game for you at one Eastern time, and then the fun really begins.
Get that win. On whom are you playing? Most likely the North loser.
I believe there's still an outside chance the Bucks could be the three seed if and in fact, if the Rams don't win on Sunday and the Bucks have a better record, they are the three seed in the NFC playoff picture.
If it's a tie, I'm still not certain that.
The Bucks don't get it on the tie because they didn't play the Rams, and would it go to conference record common opponents get the abacus out, let's find out what the tiebreaker is. But the Bucks could it would still be the three seat, most likely going to be the four seed with a win on Sunday over the Saints and be in the playoffs on the wildcard weekend. And are they playing the Vikings or playing the Lions. That is for next week to talk about. For now, go beat the Saints in the final game of the year. Everybody be safe in and around New Year's great to be with you here in twenty twenty four football not done yet, Go win the South against the Saints, and then it's playoff time in twenty twenty five. Here it's still the twenty twenty four season, the twenty five postseason. We're looking forward to all of it. My thanks to Jason Barringer for help with the highlights. In the interviews. Jeff Ryan's our director, are broadcasting. We will be here on Monday after that matchup with the Saints, I'm gonna say confidently, talking about winning the South and talking about the playoff picture.
Stay tuned for all of that.
We are on the air one Eastern time Buccaneers Radio ninety eight Rocks, the Bucks Mobile, Lap and all of our affiliates for the call of the game that the Buccaneers in the New Year and the New Orleans Saints. We'll come back here on Nothing but Bucks after it's all over with. For now, we are good. Keep the fake Buccaneer fans. You're in control of your own destiny. The playoffs all wait, and we will be here to recap all of it through the Buccaneers Mobile app and the podcast outlets.
This is nothing but Bucks.
