The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will head right into a Week 18 matchup at residence towards the New Orleans Saints with management over their very own destiny of their quest to safe a fourth straight NFC South division title.
The Buccaneers moved into first place within the division with their dominant 48-14 win over the Carolina Panthers adopted by the Atlanta Falcons’ 30-24 additional time loss at Washington on Sunday night time. The 9-7 Buccaneers have a one-game lead over the 8-8 Falcons with one week to play, and want to keep up that edge as a result of Atlanta has the tiebreaker because of a head-to-head season sweep.
The Buccaneers will play host to the Saints on Sunday, January 5 at Raymond James Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX. The Falcons will play on the similar time at residence towards the Panthers, with the sport broadcast by CBS.
Within the late-season division title quest, the Buccaneers struck the primary blow in Week 17 with a 551-yard offensive efficiency towards Carolina during which the the group scored on seven of its 9 possessions. Baker Mayfield threw for 359 yards and 5 touchdowns and each Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan discovered the top zone twice. Rookie operating again Bucky Irving eclipsed the 1,000-yard dashing mark on a day on which he racked up a season-best 190 yards from scrimmage. The Buccaneers’ protection sacked Panthers quarterback Bryce Younger 5 occasions and held the guests to 204 whole yards.
Atlanta’s Sunday night time efficiency in Washington was a thriller, with rookie quarterback Michael Penix throwing a 13-yard landing go to tight finish Michael Penix on fourth-and-goal to tie the sport with a minute left in regulation. Luckily for the Buccaneers, the Commanders received the additional time coin flip and took the opening possession 70 yards for a game-winning landing, ending in Jayden Daniels’ two-yard scoring go to Zach Ertz.