Bucs Fall Short in Carolina, But Division Hopes Still Alive Despite Painful Misfire
The Buccaneers pounded the rock over 30 times on Sunday, leaning into a run-heavy game plan in their 23-20 divisional loss to the Panthers. But when it came time to throw-when the moment called for precision and poise-it all unraveled on a single misread between Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans. One errant throw, one miscommunication, and the Bucs walked away with their sixth loss in the last seven games.
With under a minute left and the Bucs driving past midfield, the offense was knocking on field goal range’s door. Mayfield stepped up in the pocket, eyes downfield, and let it rip toward Evans.
But Evans, reading Mayfield’s body language, thought his quarterback was about to take off on a scramble. Given that Mayfield had already picked up 49 yards on four scrambles earlier in the game, you can’t fault Evans for thinking that.
Instead of continuing his route, Evans shifted into blocking mode. The problem?
Mayfield had already thrown the ball. Panthers defensive back Lathan Ransom didn’t hesitate-he read the play perfectly and came down with the interception that sealed the win for Carolina.
A Rare Disconnect Between Mayfield and Evans
It’s not often you see Mayfield and Evans out of sync. They’ve built chemistry all season, even with Evans battling through nagging injuries and Mayfield adjusting to a new system. But Sunday’s final play was one of those rare moments where instincts clashed.
“Unfortunately, it was [a miscommunication],” Mayfield said postgame. “I was trying to find a lane to step through and make the throw to him.
He thought I was going to scramble, which, based on some of the scrambles earlier to that, you can’t blame him for that. Honestly, just a sucky situation.”
Mayfield wasn’t wrong. He’d been effective on the ground all day, and the Panthers’ defense had to respect his mobility.
So when he stepped up in the pocket, Evans went into improvisation mode. The timing just didn’t line up.
“Stepping up in the pocket, the guy was going to be over the top of him. It was going be a bang-bang play,” Mayfield added.
“But I trust Mike in those situations. It would’ve put us in field goal range at that point.
Still had a timeout, so at that point you’re really evaluating time on the clock, let’s go score to win the game. No negative plays to knock us out of field goal position.”
Evans finished the game with five catches on nine targets for 31 yards and a touchdown-modest numbers for the future Hall of Famer, but he was still the most targeted receiver on the team. The Bucs had all four of their starting wideouts active, including Jalen McMillan, but leaned heavily on the ground game instead of opening things up through the air. That strategy raised some eyebrows, especially with Evans back in the mix and healthy enough to be a difference-maker.
Still, Mayfield wasn’t pointing fingers.
“I’m never going to question his instincts,” he said. “And that’s a thing where you can look and say we should’ve done this, we should’ve done that, but it’s just the timing of the play. It happens in a millisecond, and unfortunately today it wasn’t on the right side for us.”
The Division Still Within Reach
For all the frustration of the last seven weeks, the Bucs’ season isn’t dead yet. Not even close.
Tampa Bay is 1-6 since the bye week, with two separate three-game losing streaks sandwiching a lone win over the Cardinals. That’s the kind of stretch that can derail a season-or, in the Bucs’ case, test how much fight they’ve got left.
The good news? The NFC South is still wide open.
If the Bucs can take down the Dolphins and then win the Week 18 rematch against the Panthers, they’ll lock up the division crown. Even if they lose to Miami, a win over Carolina could still get them in-provided the Panthers lose to the Seahawks next week.
That path to the postseason is something this team hasn’t lost sight of.
“We’ve got to win out to win the division and get into the playoffs,” Mayfield said. “It’s as clear as it can be.
Wish we could’ve taken care of business today, but the situation doesn’t change. It sucks.
Too many penalties, kept shooting ourselves in the foot, and got to finish with seven in the red zone instead of three.”
That’s been the recurring theme for Tampa Bay during this slide: missed red zone opportunities, costly penalties, and just enough mistakes to keep them from closing out winnable games. Mayfield summed it up with a line that’s become all too familiar in the Bucs’ locker room.
“Same story, different day.”
Final Word
This one stings for the Bucs-not just because of the loss, but because of how close they were to flipping the script. One more completion, one more clean read, and they’re setting up for a game-tying field goal or even a go-ahead touchdown.
But the season isn’t over. Not yet.
The margin for error is gone, but the opportunity is still there. If Tampa Bay can clean up the little things, finish drives, and get Mayfield and Evans back on the same page, they’ve still got a shot to punch their ticket to January football.
In a season full of "almosts," the next two weeks will determine whether the Bucs can finally turn one of those into a "we did it."