TAMPA, Fla. — Baker Mayfield threw for 359 yards and five touchdowns to help the Tampa Bay Buccaneers keep their division and playoff hopes alive with a 48-14 rout of the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
Tampa Bay's fifth win in the past six weeks nudged the first-place Bucs (9-7) a half-game ahead of Atlanta for the best record in the NFC South, with the Falcons set to play on the road later Sunday night at Washington.
Atlanta holds the tiebreaker in the division race and can end Tampa Bay's three-year reign as NFC South champions by beating the Commanders and winning again next week at home against the last-place Panthers (4-12).
Mayfield threw TD passes of 2 and 1 yards to Mike Evans, and Tampa Bay produced points on five straight first-half possessions to build a 27-7 lead. Jalen McMillan scored on receptions of 10 and 16 yards, linebacker J.J. Russell returned a blocked punt for a third-quarter TD and rookie Bucky Irving had another big game against Carolina with 120 yards rushing on 20 carries and four receptions for 77 yards.
Irving went over 1,000 yards for the season (1,033) despite primarily being used as a backup to Rachaad White. The fourth-round draft pick ran for 152 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries against the NFL's 32nd-ranked run defense in Tampa Bay's 26-23 overtime win at Carolina on Dec. 1.
Meanwhile, Mayfield improved to 4-0 against Carolina since his former team released him two years ago. He completed 27 of 32 passes without an interception.
The Panthers played without leading rusher Chuba Hubbard, who was placed on injured reserve Saturday. Without him, the offense was almost totally dependent on quarterback Bryce Young, who tossed a pair of TD passes to Adam Thielen but was only 15 of 28 passing for 203 yards.
The Bucs sacked Young five times and limited Carolina to 39 yards rushing. Thielen scored on receptions of 17 and 40 yards in the first half and finished with five catches for 110 yards.
Panthers: Close the season at Atlanta.
Buccaneers: Host the New Orleans Saints.
