Bucs beat Saints to win NFC South, eliminate Falcons
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are NFC South champions again.
Baker Mayfield threw two touchdowns - including a go-ahead score to Jalen McMillan with 10:09 left in the fourth quarter - to help the Buccaneers beat the New Orleans Saints 27-19 on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.
The victory moved the Bucs to 10-7, which sealed a fourth straight NFC South title. The Atlanta Falcons needed to beat the Carolina Panthers and a Tampa Bay loss to advance to the playoffs. The Falcons-Panthers contest, which went to overtime as the Buccaneers clinched the division, ended with a 44-38 Carolina victory.
Tampa Bay was sloppy against the Saints on Sunday but prevailed after Bucky Irving extend the late lead in the final minutes.
Gene Deckerhoff calls Bucky Irving's touchdown pic.twitter.com/9ZtfBjhCTx
— Bucs Rays Bolts (@BucsRaysBoltsYT) January 5, 2025
It was a special Sunday for Buccaneers fans: Veteran wide receiver Mike Evans also surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in a season for the 11th consecutive year on the game's final play.
The Bucs can finish the regular season as the NFC's No. 3 or No. 4 seed. They entered the weekend as the conference's 4-seed but could move up if the Los Angeles Rams lose to the Seattle Seahawks.
Tampa Bay has now reached the playoffs in each of the last five seasons. The club hasn't advanced past the divisional round since winning the Super Bowl with Tom Brady during the 2020 campaign.