It came down to the wire, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the New Orleans Saints 27-19 to win the NFC South and earn a spot in the playoffs. The Bucs will host the Washington Commanders in the wild-card round next weekend as the No. 3 seed in the NFC.
The game was a thriller, with the Saints leading 16-6 at halftime. But the Buccaneers fought back in the second half, with quarterback Baker Mayfield orchestrating a 10-play, 72-yard drive that ended in a touchdown to cut the deficit to 16-13. The Saints’ defense was pesky, forcing an interception and adding another field goal to take a 19-13 lead into the fourth quarter.
However, Mayfield and the Bucs were not done. Mayfield stepped up in a collapsing pocket and delivered a strike to Jalen McMillan, who caught a 32-yard touchdown pass to give the Bucs a 20-19 lead. A broken play resulted in a 11-yard rush touchdown by Bucky Irving, giving the Bucs a 27-19 lead.
The Bucs’ victory was made even more special by the performance of wide receiver Mike Evans, who caught nine passes for 89 yards to reach 1,000 receiving yards for the season. The achievement earned him a $3 million incentive, making him the first player in NFL history to reach 1,000 yards in his first 11 seasons.