CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It came a week late and without a good chunk of their star power, but Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers clinched the NFC South title Sunday with a 32-6 win over the Carolina Panthers, capturing their first division title since 2007 and giving them back-to-back 11-win seasons for the first time in franchise history.
They were without Pro Bowl wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and running back Leonard Fournette, who, together, comprised nearly 60% of their scoring offense. On defense, they were without outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul, inside linebacker Lavonte David and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. They also lost Pro Bowl outside linebacker Shaq Barrett to a knee injury in the third quarter — initial indications are that Barrett suffered an MCL sprain and “nothing long term,” a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Further testing will be conducted on Monday.
Instead, in the passing game they relied on Antonio Brown, who was active for the first time since Week 6 due to an ankle injury and a three-game suspension and had 101 receiving yards on 10 catches, along with Cyril Grayson, who had just one catch for the season prior to Sunday and two in his career, but hauled in three catches for 81 yards.
On the ground, they turned to Ronald Jones II, who was unseated by Fournette for the starting running back role last season, and Ke’Shawn Vaughn, who before Sunday had rushed for just 50 yards on the season. Vaughn took a handoff 55 yards for a touchdown on the second drive of the game, giving the Bucs their longest rushing score of the year.
In the second quarter, Brady found Cameron Brate on a slant route for a 4-yard touchdown to make it 19-6, with the Bucs showing far heavier tight end usage after one of the unit’s worst performances of the season last week. Jones added the team’s third touchdown on a 7-yard run in the third quarter.
Throughout the season, the Bucs had what many deemed an embarrassment of riches on offense. Even without Brown for nine games and Gronkowski for five, they repeatedly put up 30 points a game.
That was until last week, when the team could have clinched the division with a win but lost 9-0 to the New Orleans Saints. Godwin — two catches shy of 100 for the season — suffered a season-ending torn ACL and Evans and Fournette went down with hamstring strains. Fournette went to injured reserve and Evans’ hopes of returning by the end of the regular season are slim. David, with a foot sprain, also went to IR, jeopardizing the Bucs’ hopes of a repeat Super Bowl.
Against the Panthers, there were a few mistakes and in Brown’s case some rust, as he and Brady were on different pages on a third-down pass on the opening drive. Brate also wasn’t on the same page with Brady at the Carolina 4-yard line, and on third down, Brady and Gronkowski failed to connect on a corner route in the end zone.
The defense surrendered a 33-yard designed run to Cam Newton on the Panthers’ opening drive. Had it not been for Ameer Abdullah tripping on one of his left tackle’s feet, the Panthers would have scored a touchdown on their opening drive, but instead they settled for a 24-yard field goal. On busted coverage, Sam Darnold found a wide-open Shi Smith for a 63-yard completion.
But Brown wound up being a difference-maker on third down, while safety Jordan Whitehead, who led the team with seven combined tackles, notched an interception on a Newton pass intended for tight end Tommy Tremble. Defensive lineman Will Gholston, Barrett, outside linebacker Anthony Nelson, defensive tackle Vita Vea and inside linebacker Kevin Minter combined for a season-high seven sacks, with Gholston registering 2.5.