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By Mike Jones, Larry Holder and Cale Clinton
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers clawed back to a 27-19 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday to clinch their fifth straight NFC South title. The Buccaneers (10-7) will now await the result of the Seattle Seahawks-Los Angeles Rams game to determine their playoff seeding, while the Saints (5-12) officially begin their coaching search as a new regime begins.
The Buccaneers entered Sunday understaffed at defensive back following safety Jordan Whitehead’s Saturday morning car accident. Tampa Bay’s defense was also without cornerback Jamel Dean and safety Antoine Winfield Jr., which set the stage for one of Spencer Rattler’s best outings of his young career.
After going into halftime down 16-6, the Buccaneers rode their ground game for the comeback. Rookie running back Bucky Irving finished with 89 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, while Baker Mayfield scrambled for 68 yards. Mayfield also passed for 221 yards, a pair of touchdowns and an interception.
The most important stat line of the day belonged to Bucs receiver Mike Evans. On the final drive of the game, Evans matched Hall of Famer Jerry Rice’s record for the longest streak of 1,000-yard seasons. Tampa Bay actively worked to get Evans the milestone, as with 35 seconds remaining, Tampa Bay received the ball back with the game in hand and Evans five yards short of the mark.
Instead of kneeling it out, the Buccaneers lined up to help Evans tie the record with a nine-yard reception. Evans finished the afternoon with nine receptions for 89 yards, giving him 1,003 yards on the season.
MIKE EVANS. 1,000 YARDS ONCE AGAIN. pic.twitter.com/V4S7S8APUX
— NFL (@NFL) January 5, 2025
Tampa Bay gets the job done — what’s next?
It wasn’t pretty, but much as they have all season, the Buccaneers scratched and clawed their way to victory over the Saints, to clinch the NFC South and a trip to the postseason after overcoming a slow start and a slew of self-inflicted wounds along the way.
It marks the Bucs’ fifth consecutive divisional crown, and with the victory, they became the only NFC team to reach the playoffs in each of the last five seasons.
What’s next? The Buccaneers are watching the Seahawks-Rams game. A loss from Los Angeles bumps them up to the three seed, while a Rams win locks in as the fourth seed. If Tampa Bay get to No. 3, they will host the Washington Commanders in the first round of the playoffs, whereas the No. 4 Buccaneers will host the fifth seed (the loser of the Detroit-Minnesota game Sunday night).
If it’s Detroit, the game will represent a rematch of the Week 2 meeting between these teams. Tampa Bay beat Detroit 20-16, and the Lions then went on an 11-game win streak to take over the top spot in the NFC. If it’s Washington, it will be a rematch of the Buccaneers’ season opener, a 37-20 win that came before Jayden Daniels and the Commanders won seven of their next eight games. If it’s Minnesota, then it will mark the first time this season that the teams will meet. — Mike Jones, national NFL writer
How would the Bucs match up in the postseason
If Tampa Bay ends up in the fourth seed, the Bucs could be in for a tall task as they try to slow two of the most prolific passing in the league. The Lions rank second in the league with 266.1 passing yards per game, and the Vikings rank fifth with 243.8 per contest. A battered secondary has hampered Tampa Bay’s efforts as of late, and for the season, the Buccaneers rank 30th in the NFL against the pass (244.9 yards per game).
Washington represents a more pedestrian passing attack, with their 219.3 yards per game coming in at 16th, but Daniels contributes an additional 54.0 yards per game on the ground in the run game. While Tampa Bay is allowing 97.8 rushing yards per game — the seventh-lowest mark in the league — the Buccaneers struggle more against mobile quarterbacks. Tampa Bay has allowed the sixth-highest total rush EPA to quarterbacks and allowed six rushing touchdowns from quarterbacks, tied for third-most in the league.
A strong run game has helped carry the Buccaneers this season. They entered Week 18 having averaged 147.3 rushing yards per contest (fourth best). An ability to consistently run the ball will help the Buccaneers control the clock and keep the opposing offense off of the field.
Mayfield is certainly capable of exchanging blows with Jared Goff and Sam Darnold, however. He entered Week 18 ranked third in the NFL (just behind Goff) with 4,279 passing yards. And he is one of only three quarterbacks with 40 or more touchdown passes.
However, to have a chance to succeed in the playoffs, the Buccaneers can’t afford to hurt themselves with penalties as they did on Sunday, when they committed 11 for 85 yards, frequently negating positive plays and putting themselves in longer down-and-distance situations. — Jones
Saints’ coaching search begins
The Saints have been open for business in the coaching market for half of this season. Where they will stop within the coaching carousel will be the most important decision of Gayle Benson’s sole ownership era. Considering Dennis Allen basically absorbed the job after Sean Payton left following the 2021 season, this is the first time since the Saints hired Payton in 2006 where the franchise will allow itself to cast a wider net in looking for a new head coach.
My colleague Dianna Russini has already attached some notable names to the search: former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel, former Chicago Bears coach and current Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, along with interim Saints coach Darren Rizzi.
And was that Jon Gruden hanging out with Saints players Derek Carr, Foster Moreau and Jake Haener on Saturday night in Tampa?
Russini even mentioned Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy as a possible candidate if he’s not retained in Dallas. I can see Saints fans rolling their eyes here, but this makes all the sense on the planet. Turn back the time machine to the Jim Haslett era when McCarthy served as the Saints’ OC for five seasons (2000-2004). Who was the general manager during the last three seasons of McCarthy’s tenure? Mickey Loomis.
There’s also zero doubt the Saints will have interest in current Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. He interviewed for the job during after the 2021 season. He’s only improved his resume while in Detroit, under former Saints assistant coach Dan Campbell.
I’m sure the Saints would like to chat with Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as he’ll be one of, if not the hottest name possibly available. I just don’t think this position will appeal to Johnson.How attractive is the Saints job compared to current or soon to be openings? It seems like a tough sell given the stagnation and no clear rebuilding outlook. — Larry Holder, NFL senior writer
Required reading
(Photo: Jonathan Dyer / Imagn Images)
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