READ MORE: Panthers continue prep to face Bucs with playoffs on the line<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cFirst and foremost, we have to win on Saturday, so that\u2019s the main focus,\u201d Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield said. \u201d(We) can\u2019t control what happens in the game Sunday, but we can control how Saturday goes, how we prepare. … The goal is still to go out there and try and find a way to win. Obviously, then play the waiting game, but we have to take care of our business and that\u2019s winning on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
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If the Panthers win, they\u2019ll earn their first division crown since Ron Rivera and Cam Newton led them to a 15-1 record and a Super Bowl appearance 10 years ago.<\/p>\n
Carolina has gone through three coaching changes and started 10 different quarterbacks since their wild-card berth in 2017.<\/p>\n
Dave Canales took over as head coach in 2024 after one season as the offensive coordinator for the Buccaneers where he helped Mayfield revive his career. He\u2019s turned the Panthers around and Bryce Young is still developing in his third season since he was the No. 1 overall pick in 2023.<\/p>\n
Running Panthers<\/p>\n
A strong running game helped propel Carolina into the playoff hunt earlier in the season and took some pressure off Young.<\/p>\n
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Rico Dowdle combined for 389 yards rushing in wins over Dallas and Miami in Weeks 5 and 6, but has only surpassed 80 yards rushing once since.<\/p>\n
The Panthers are averaging 31.8 rushing attempts in their eight wins, but only 24.1 attempts in their eight losses.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood things happen when you run the ball; you run the ball when good things happen,\u201d Canales said. \u201cIt works both ways, and it\u2019s a part of who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dowdle was listed on the team\u2019s injury report early in the week with a toe injury, but said it\u2019s not an issue and he\u2019ll be fine to play.<\/p>\n
The Bucs are seventh against the run, though they haven\u2019t done anything well on defense lately.<\/p>\n
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Carolina sneak<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not quite the Philadelphia Eagles\u2019 version of the \u201ctush push,\u201d but the Panthers began employing their own short-yardage play last week against the Seahawks by motioning backup tight end Mitchell Evans under center to take a quarterback sneak on a fourth down attempt.<\/p>\n
Offensive coordinator Brad Idzik wouldn\u2019t call it a tush push, joking that \u201cwe didn\u2019t push the tush.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s something the Panthers have been working on because they don\u2019t feel comfortable using the undersized Young in those situations.<\/p>\n
Bowles\u2019 future<\/p>\n
The Buccaneers have lost seven of eight and eight of 10. Most organizations would make significant changes after freefalling. Todd Bowles has led the team to three division titles in his first three seasons, but is 1-3 in the playoffs.<\/p>\n
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He\u2019s signed through 2028, so that helps his case. It also wasn\u2019t Bowles\u2019 fault the Bucs lacked talent on defense and endured several injuries to key players.<\/p>\n
Action Jackson<\/p>\n
Opposing teams tend to shy away from throwing at Panthers two-time Pro Bowl pick Jaycee Horn, which means fellow cornerback Mike Jackson has seen plenty of action this season.<\/p>\n
And he\u2019s been up for the challenge.<\/p>\n
Jackson leads the league with 19 passes defensed \u2013 one shy of the franchise record – and had an interception last week against Sam Darnold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been so blessed with the way Mike has really played these last few years and certainly exceeded the expectations of a lot of people, but did not exceed his expectations,\u201d defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. \u201cWhen you look at the way he prepares, the extra time he spent with coach (Jonathan) Cooley in the meeting rooms, this guy is as dialed-in a player as I\u2019ve ever been around in that position.\u201d<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
AP Sports Writer Steve Reed contributed.<\/p>\n
VIDEO: Panthers emphasize importance of Saturday\u2019s game as prep continues<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(AP) – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are one game away from finishing off an epic collapse and entering…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":649370,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2077],"tags":[18342,1842,1476,211,7571,260,229,3838,7,6457,216,1179,6,236,109,7152,1878,238,704,250,2597,2596,1470],"class_list":["post-649369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa-bay-buccaneers","tag-action-jackson","tag-baker-mayfield","tag-bryce-young","tag-buccaneers","tag-cam-newton","tag-carolina-panthers","tag-dallas","tag-dave-canales","tag-football","tag-jaycee-horn","tag-miami","tag-mitchell-evans","tag-nfl","tag-panthers","tag-philadelphia-eagles","tag-rico-dowdle","tag-sam-darnold","tag-seahawks","tag-tampa-bay","tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","tag-tampabay","tag-tampabaybuccaneers","tag-the-panthers"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115828331940127746","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=649369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/649370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=649369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=649369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=649369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}