It was a long, hard regular season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but they defeated the Carolina Panthers 9-0 in the regular-season finale and won the NFC South title as a result. Quarterback Baker Mayfield struggled to ignite the offense against the NFL's worst team, but he has emerged as a season-long leader for the Bucs.

While the offense was held to 3 field goals, the Tampa Bay defense completely stifled the Carolina attack. The Tampa Bay defense limited rookie quarterback Bryce Young to 94 passing yards, and the Panthers were shut out for the second week in a row.

The Bucs enter the NFC playoffs as the No. 4 seed in the playoff structure, and they will have a home game in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

Mayfield was thrilled that the Bucs were able to come up with the victory even though the offense was not in top form. He sees the start of the postseason as a time for the team to reset.

“I can't say enough about our defense,” said Mayfield. “A lot of guys stepped up and made big plays on defense. Offensively we ran the ball when we needed to. It wasn't a pretty win by any means and there is room for improvement.”

Baker Mayfield suffered an ankle injury early in the game, and he was visibly limping at several points throughout the game. He completed 20 of 32 passes for for 137 yards. The Bucs offense got a lift from second-year running back Rachaad White, who had 19 carries for 75 yards.