Bucs rout Panthers, keep pace in race for first in NFC South

Baker Mayfield threw for five touchdowns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stayed in the race atop the NFC South by pounding the visiting Carolina Panthers 48-14 on Sunday afternoon.

Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan both caught two TD passes and Bucky Irving rushed for 113 yards as Tampa Bay's second victory of the month against Carolina came much easier than the road version in overtime.

Mayfield completed 27 of 32 passes for 359 yards and Evans caught eight balls for 97 yards. The Buccaneers (9-7) collected 551 yards of total offense.

The Panthers (4-12) have lost five of their last six despite Bryce Young throwing two touchdown passes to Adam Thielen (five catches, 110 receiving yards). Young finished 15-for-28 passing for 203 yards, but Carolina managed only 39 rushing yards as it played without injured top running back Chuba Hubbard.

Both of Mayfield's TD tosses to Evans were short (2 yards, 1 yard). Mayfield's scoring throws to McMillian covered 10 and 16 yards. He also had a 5-yard throw to Payne Durham to open the second-half scoring.

The Buccaneers also scored off J. J. Russell's blocked punt return during a 25-second span of the third quarter when they racked up 14 points.

Chase McLaughlin kicked field goals of 23 and 34 yards for the Buccaneers, who need to finish with a better record than the Atlanta Falcons in the divisional race because the tiebreaker favors Atlanta, which plays at Washington on Sunday night. Tampa Bay hosts New Orleans next weekend, while Carolina plays at Atlanta.

After scoring on its first possession, Carolina's next three series on offense resulted in a total of minus-6 yards and three punts. The Buccaneers cashed in for 17 points following those defensive stops.

The Panthers perked up by going 70 yards in 21 seconds to score on Young's 40-yard pass to Theilen with 50 seconds left in the half. They got the ball back following a Tampa Bay punt, and were in position to post 10 points in the last minute of the half until Eddy Pineiro's 53-yard field goal attempt was off the mark.

Carolina has surrendered more points this year than in any season in franchise history, though Tampa Bay came four points shy of matching the most points ever allowed by the Panthers in a game.

--Field Level Media