Tampa Bay outrushed Carolina 140 yards to 19 and held possession for over 37 minutes in a 16-14 Week 18 win at Raymond James Stadium on January 3, 2026, with three Carolina turnovers ultimately the difference despite Bryce Young throwing for 266 yards and two touchdowns. Baker Mayfield went 16-for-22 for 203 yards and a score, Chase McLaughlin converted three field goals from 29, 36, and 48 yards, and Tampa Bay held on after Young’s late touchdown pass to Jalen Coker cut the lead to two with under three minutes left. Carolina got the ball back at its own 3-yard line with 18 seconds remaining and no timeouts, and the game ended on a desperation lateral that produced a fumble.
Table of Contents
Game Information
Date
Saturday, January 3, 2026
Venue
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
Attendance
65,082
Conditions
Rain
Broadcast
ABC / ESPN
Carolina Panthers Record
8-9 (3-6 away)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Record
8-9 (4-4 home)
Score by Quarter
Team
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Final
Carolina Panthers
0
7
0
7
14
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
10
3
0
3
16
Scoring Plays
Qtr
Time
Team
Play
Drive
Score
1st
9:31
Tampa Bay
Cade Otton 18-yd pass from Baker Mayfield (Chase McLaughlin kick)
9 plays, 74 yds, 5:29
TB 7-0
1st
1:57
Tampa Bay
Chase McLaughlin 29-yd field goal
11 plays, 69 yds, 5:27
TB 10-0
2nd
10:50
Carolina
Tommy Tremble 8-yd pass from Bryce Young (Ryan Fitzgerald kick)
3 plays, 19 yds, 1:28
TB 10-7
2nd
0:02
Tampa Bay
Chase McLaughlin 36-yd field goal
7 plays, 40 yds, 1:49
TB 13-7
4th
14:12
Tampa Bay
Chase McLaughlin 48-yd field goal
9 plays, 39 yds, 5:18
TB 16-7
4th
2:27
Carolina
Jalen Coker 8-yd pass from Bryce Young (Ryan Fitzgerald kick)
8 plays, 72 yds, 2:45
TB 16-14
Carolina’s second-quarter touchdown drive was set up by LB Christian Rozeboom’s interception, returned 20 yards to the Tampa Bay 19. Tampa Bay’s second-quarter field goal came off CB Jacob Parrish’s interception late in the half. McLaughlin’s 38-yard attempt in the fourth quarter was blocked by Carolina.
Team Stats
Stat
Carolina Panthers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Total Yards
285
338
Total Plays
49
66
Yards Per Play
5.8
5.1
1st Downs
16
21
Passing 1st Downs
13
12
Rushing 1st Downs
1
7
1st Downs from Penalties
2
2
Passing Yards (net)
266
198
Completions / Attempts
24/35
16/22
Yards Per Pass
7.6
8.3
Interceptions Thrown
1
1
Sacks-Yards Lost
0-0
2-5
Rushing Yards
19
140
Rushing Attempts
14
42
Yards Per Rush
1.4
3.3
3rd Down
1/8 (13%)
8/15 (53%)
4th Down
2/2 (100%)
0/0
Red Zone (Made/Att)
2/2
1/3
Turnovers
3
1
Fumbles Lost
2
0
Penalties-Yards
5-46
6-45
Time of Possession
22:35
37:25
Total Drives
10
9
Avg Plays Per Drive
5.3
7.9
Avg Yards Per Drive
25.6
35.1
Avg Points Per Drive
1.3
1.6
Passing: Bryce Young and Baker Mayfield
Carolina Panthers
Player
C/ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
INT
SACKS
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
SACKS
RTG
QBR
Baker Mayfield
16/22
203
9.2
1
1
2-5
97.3
73.5
Rushing Stats
Carolina Panthers
Player
POS
CAR
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
FUM
Rico Dowdle
HB
7
10
1.4
0
4
1
Chuba Hubbard
HB
5
10
2.0
0
5
0
Bryce Young
QB
2
-1
-0.5
0
0
1
Team
14
19
1.4
0
5
2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Player
POS
CAR
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
FUM
Bucky Irving
HB
26
85
3.3
0
9
0
Baker Mayfield
QB
4
31
7.8
0
11
1
Rachaad White
HB
7
23
3.3
0
7
0
Tez Johnson
WR
1
5
5.0
0
5
0
Sean Tucker
HB
4
-4
-1.0
0
3
1
Team
42
140
3.3
0
11
2
All four of Mayfield’s carries were scrambles.
Receiving Stats
Carolina Panthers
Player
POS
REC
TGT
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
YAC
Tetairoa McMillan
WR
4
6
85
21.3
0
40
9
Jalen Coker
WR
6
7
47
7.8
1
18
1
Tommy Tremble
TE
3
4
38
12.7
1
17
16
Brycen Tremayne
WR
2
2
27
13.5
0
20
11
Xavier Legette
WR
3
4
22
7.3
0
12
-1
Rico Dowdle
HB
2
2
20
10.0
0
25
36
Jimmy Horn Jr.
WR
1
1
15
15.0
0
15
1
Chuba Hubbard
HB
2
2
7
3.5
0
5
5
Mitchell Evans
TE
1
2
5
5.0
0
5
10
Team
24
30
266
11.1
2
40
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Player
POS
REC
TGT
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
YAC
Cade Otton
TE
7
9
94
13.4
1
22
52
Mike Evans
WR
2
2
34
17.0
0
21
6
Rachaad White
HB
2
2
18
9.0
0
11
24
Tez Johnson
WR
1
1
17
17.0
0
17
1
Bucky Irving
HB
1
2
13
13.0
0
13
14
Jalen McMillan
WR
1
1
11
11.0
0
11
4
Chris Godwin
WR
1
1
8
8.0
0
8
3
Emeka Egbuka
WR
1
3
8
8.0
0
8
7
Payne Durham
TE
0
1
0
—
0
—
—
Team
16
22
203
12.7
1
22
Defensive Stats
Carolina Panthers
Player
POS
TOT
SOLO
SACKS
TFL
PD
QB HTS
Derrick Brown
DT
13
5
0.0
0
0
0
Nick Scott
S
9
6
0.0
0
0
0
Christian Rozeboom
LB
8
6
0.0
0
2
0
Mike Jackson
CB
7
4
0.0
0
0
0
Tre’von Moehrig
S
6
4
1.0
2
0
1
Krys Barnes
LB
6
2
0.5
1
0
1
D.J. Wonnum
DE
5
4
0.0
0
0
0
Nic Scourton
DE
5
2
0.5
0
0
1
A’Shawn Robinson
DT
5
1
0.0
0
0
1
Chau Smith-Wade
CB
4
3
0.0
0
0
0
Trevis Gipson
DE
2
1
0.0
0
0
0
Princely Umanmielen
DE
2
1
0.0
1
0
0
Thomas Incoom
DE
2
1
0.0
0
0
0
Lathan Ransom
S
2
0
0.0
0
1
0
Bobby Brown III
DT
1
1
0.0
1
0
0
Maema Njongmeta
LB
1
1
0.0
0
0
0
LaBryan Ray
DT
1
0
0.0
0
0
0
Cam Jackson
DT
1
0
0.0
0
0
0
Bam Martin-Scott
LB
1
0
0.0
0
0
0
Team
81
42
2.0
5
3
4
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Player
POS
TOT
SOLO
SACKS
TFL
PD
QB HTS
Lavonte David
LB
6
5
0.0
0
0
0
Tykee Smith
S
5
4
0.0
0
0
0
Yaya Diaby
DE
4
3
0.0
1
0
0
Vita Vea
DT
3
3
0.0
1
0
0
Jacob Parrish
CB
3
3
0.0
0
1
0
Antoine Winfield Jr.
S
3
1
0.0
0
1
0
J.T. Gray
LB
2
2
0.0
0
0
0
Christian Izien
S
2
2
0.0
0
0
0
SirVocea Dennis
LB
2
2
0.0
1
0
0
Haason Reddick
DE
2
1
0.0
0
0
0
Benjamin Morrison
CB
2
1
0.0
0
0
0
Mike Evans
WR
1
1
0.0
0
0
0
Elijah Roberts
DT
1
1
0.0
0
0
0
Greg Gaines
DT
1
0
0.0
0
0
0
Logan Hall
DT
1
0
0.0
0
0
0
Calijah Kancey
DT
0
0
0.0
0
0
1
Team
38
29
0.0
3
2
1
Turnovers
Interceptions
Player
Team
INT
YDS
TD
Christian Rozeboom
Carolina
1
20
0
Jacob Parrish
Tampa Bay
1
0
0
Fumbles — Carolina Panthers
Player
POS
FUM
LOST
REC
Rico Dowdle
HB
1
1
1
Tetairoa McMillan
WR
1
1
0
Bryce Young
QB
1
0
0
Team
3
2
1
Fumbles — Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Player
POS
FUM
LOST
REC
Baker Mayfield
QB
1
0
1
Sean Tucker
HB
1
0
0
Lavonte David
LB
0
0
1
Rashad Wisdom
S
0
0
1
Benjamin Morrison
CB
0
0
1
Team
2
0
4
Special Teams
Kicking
Player
Team
FG
FG%
LONG
XP
PTS
Chase McLaughlin
Tampa Bay
3/4
75.0%
48
1/1
10
Ryan Fitzgerald
Carolina
0/1
0.0%
N/A
2/2
2
McLaughlin made kicks of 29, 36, and 48 yards. His 38-yard attempt in the fourth quarter was blocked. Fitzgerald missed from 54 yards in the third quarter.
Punting
Player
Team
NO
YDS
AVG
TB
IN 20
LONG
Sam Martin
Carolina
3
139
46.3
1
1
50
Riley Dixon
Tampa Bay
3
130
43.3
0
3
46
Kick Returns
Player
Team
NO
YDS
AVG
LONG
TD
Sean Tucker
Tampa Bay
3
57
19.0
21
0
Carolina
—
0
—
—
—
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
Tampa Bay
—
0
—
—
—
0
PFF Grades and Advanced Stats
Initial grades, subject to review. Source: Pro Football Focus.
Top Offensive PFF Grades
Player
Team
POS
Grade
Snaps
Cade Otton
Tampa Bay
TE
82.0
64
Tristan Wirfs
Tampa Bay
T
81.6
67
Taylor Moton
Carolina
T
76.8
51
Tommy Tremble
Carolina
TE
75.8
46
Damien Lewis
Carolina
G
73.9
51
Top Defensive PFF Grades
Player
Team
POS
Grade
Snaps
Note
Lathan Ransom
Carolina
S
84.1
17
Rookie
Yaya Diaby
Tampa Bay
DE
73.8
40
Derrick Brown
Carolina
DT
72.7
63
Antoine Winfield Jr.
Tampa Bay
S
71.1
51
Lavonte David
Tampa Bay
LB
69.7
51
Expected Points Added Per Play
Category
Carolina Panthers
Percentile
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Percentile
Passing
+0.12
58th
+0.41
92nd
Rushing
-0.46
2nd
-0.20
27th
Compared against 2025 season average.
Quarterback Metrics
Metric
Bryce Young
Baker Mayfield
Dropbacks
36
28
Avg Depth of Target
7.6 yds
7.1 yds
Avg Time to Throw
2.60s
3.54s
Adjusted Completion %
83.3%
81.8%
Air Yards %
68.5%
45.3%
Yards After Catch %
33.0%
54.7%
Short of Sticks %
51.4%
54.5%
Past the Sticks %
34.3%
45.5%
Scrambles
0
4
Scramble Yards (PFF)
0
44
Passing Breakdown
Stat
Carolina Panthers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Air Yards
183
92
Avg Air Yards Per Completion
7.6
5.8
Yards After Catch
90
111
Avg YAC Per Completion
3.8
6.9
Explosive Passes (15+ yds)
7
5
Yards on Explosive Passes
154
98
Deep Attempts (20+ yds)
2
0
Deep Completions
2
0
Yards on Deep Completions
59
0
Dropped Passes
1
2
Throwaways
4
0
Total Pressures Allowed
13
22
Sacks Allowed
0
2
Hurries Allowed
10
13
Rushing Breakdown
Stat
Carolina Panthers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Avg Yards Before Contact
-0.3
1.1
Avg Yards After Contact
1.8
2.3
Explosive Runs (10+ yds)
0
1
TFLs Allowed
2
4
Yards Lost on TFLs
-3
-11
Pass Rush
Carolina Panthers
Player
POS
PRES
SACKS
HITS
HU
SNAPS
PR%
Derrick Brown
DT
5
0
0
5
24
20.8%
A’Shawn Robinson
DT
4
0
0
4
26
15.4%
Nic Scourton
DE
3
0
0
3
20
15.0%
Cam’Ron Jackson
DT
1
0
0
1
5
20.0%
Bobby Brown III
DT
1
0
0
1
7
14.3%
D.J. Wonnum
DE
1
0
0
1
16
6.3%
LaBryan Ray
DT
1
0
0
1
2
50.0%
Tre’von Moehrig
S
1
1
0
0
7
14.3%
Nick Scott
S
1
0
0
1
1
100%
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Player
POS
PRES
SACKS
HITS
HU
SNAPS
PR%
Calijah Kancey
DT
3
0
0
3
24
12.5%
Antoine Winfield Jr.
S
2
0
0
2
7
28.6%
Yaya Diaby
DE
2
0
0
2
23
8.7%
Chris Braswell
DE
1
0
0
1
7
14.3%
Christian Izien
S
1
0
0
1
2
50.0%
Lavonte David
LB
1
0
0
1
7
14.3%
Logan Hall
DT
1
0
0
1
15
6.7%
SirVocea Dennis
LB
1
0
0
1
4
25.0%
Elijah Roberts
DT
1
0
0
1
6
16.7%
Pass Coverage
Carolina Panthers
Player
POS
YDS ALLOWED
TGT
REC
COMP%
INT
PBU
RTG
Mike Jackson
CB
54
5
4
80.0%
0
0
111.7
Chau Smith-Wade
CB
52
4
4
100%
0
0
118.8
Christian Rozeboom
LB
46
6
4
66.7%
1
0
89.6
Tre’von Moehrig
S
20
1
1
100%
0
0
118.8
Jaycee Horn
CB
13
1
1
100%
0
0
118.8
Krys Barnes
LB
10
1
1
100%
0
0
108.3
Trevis Gipson
DE
8
1
1
100%
0
0
100.0
D.J. Wonnum
DE
0
1
0
0.0%
0
0
39.6
Lathan Ransom
S
0
1
0
0.0%
0
1
39.6
Nick Scott
S
0
1
0
0.0%
0
0
39.6
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Player
POS
YDS ALLOWED
TGT
REC
COMP%
INT
PBU
RTG
Jacob Parrish
CB
89
8
5
62.5%
1
0
60.9
Haason Reddick
DE
51
4
4
100%
0
0
118.8
Benjamin Morrison
CB
38
5
3
60.0%
0
0
123.3
Tykee Smith
S
24
2
2
100%
0
0
116.7
Christian Izien
S
19
3
3
100%
0
0
93.1
Yaya Diaby
DE
18
2
2
100%
0
0
104.2
Antoine Winfield Jr.
S
15
2
1
50.0%
0
0
75.0
Lavonte David
LB
8
2
2
100%
0
0
83.3
SirVocea Dennis
LB
8
1
1
100%
0
0
139.6
Red Zone
Stat
Carolina Panthers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Possessions
3
4
Plays
6
6
Touchdowns
2
1
Field Goals
0
2
Scoring Efficiency
67%
75%
Snap Counts
Carolina Panthers — Offense
Player
POS
SNAPS
Bryce Young
QB
51
Austin Corbett
C
51
Cade Mays
C
51
Damien Lewis
G
51
Ikem Ekwonu
T
51
Taylor Moton
T
51
Jalen Coker
WR
47
Tommy Tremble
TE
46
Tetairoa McMillan
WR
45
Rico Dowdle
HB
27
Chuba Hubbard
HB
23
Mitchell Evans
TE
23
Jimmy Horn Jr.
WR
16
Xavier Legette
WR
16
Brycen Tremayne
WR
7
James Mitchell
TE
4
Trevor Etienne
HB
1
Carolina Panthers — Defense
Player
POS
SNAPS
Christian Rozeboom
LB
67
Jaycee Horn
CB
67
Mike Jackson
CB
67
Nick Scott
S
67
Tre’von Moehrig
S
67
Derrick Brown
DT
63
A’Shawn Robinson
DT
60
Chau Smith-Wade
CB
56
Nic Scourton
DE
56
D.J. Wonnum
DE
54
Krys Barnes
LB
25
Cam’Ron Jackson
DT
21
Bobby Brown III
DT
18
Lathan Ransom
S
17
Trevis Gipson
DE
15
LaBryan Ray
DT
8
Princely Umanmielen
DE
7
Thomas Incoom
DE
2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Offense
Player
POS
SNAPS
Baker Mayfield
QB
67
Dan Feeney
G
67
Graham Barton
C
67
Luke Goedeke
T
67
Michael Jordan
G
67
Tristan Wirfs
T
67
Cade Otton
TE
64
Mike Evans
WR
50
Chris Godwin
WR
47
Bucky Irving
HB
42
Emeka Egbuka
WR
39
Jalen McMillan
WR
37
Rachaad White
HB
22
Payne Durham
TE
18
Tez Johnson
WR
9
Sean Tucker
HB
5
Charlie Heck
T
2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Defense
Player
POS
SNAPS
Antoine Winfield Jr.
S
51
Benjamin Morrison
CB
51
Jacob Parrish
CB
51
Lavonte David
LB
51
Tykee Smith
S
51
SirVocea Dennis
LB
48
Haason Reddick
DE
40
Yaya Diaby
DE
40
Vita Vea
DT
39
Christian Izien
S
31
Calijah Kancey
DT
28
Logan Hall
DT
28
Elijah Roberts
DT
15
Greg Gaines
DT
12
Chris Braswell
DE
11
Jason Pierre-Paul
DE
10
Rashad Wisdom
S
3
Markees Watts
DE
1
Injury Report
Carolina Panthers: DT Bobby Brown III left in the fourth quarter for a concussion evaluation.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: LB Anthony Walker suffered an ankle injury on the opening kickoff. CB Jamel Dean (shoulder) and DE Anthony Nelson (knee) did not play. DT Calijah Kancey returned to the active roster for the first time since Week 2, when he sustained a pectoral injury.
Officiating Crew
Role
Official
Referee
Brad Allen
Down Judge
Sarah Thomas
Line Judge
Walter Flowers
Side Judge
Chad Hill
Field Judge
Rick Patterson
Back Judge
Tyree Walton
Umpire
Marcus Woods
Atlanta beat New Orleans 19-17 on January 4, 2026, and Carolina claimed the NFC South title on the divisional tiebreaker with all three teams finishing 8-9. It was the Panthers’ first division championship since the 15-1 season of 2015 and their first playoff appearance since 2017; as the No. 4 seed, Carolina hosted the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round. Tampa Bay’s four consecutive NFC South titles ended with the Buccaneers watching the postseason from home.
Stats sourced from ESPN, Associated Press, and Pro Football Focus. PFF grades and advanced metrics are initial figures subject to review.
Cornelia Lindqvist is a Swedish-American sports journalist with 4 years of experience covering professional athletics. She previously worked at Sports Illustrated before joining Newzire. Cornelia reports on the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, international football, and cricket, covering game results, roster moves, trade deals, playoff standings, and player statistics. Her sports analysis background helps readers understand the strategies and numbers behind wins and losses.
