For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a win against the Panthers kept their playoff hopes alive, but it also felt more like a letdown than a victory. While the 16-14 triumph pushed them to an 8-9 record, tying with Carolina atop the NFC South Division, Bucs’ head coach Todd Bowles made it clear the mood inside the locker room is far from celebratory.

“It was disappointment today, could be jubilation tomorrow,” Todd Bowles told reporters in the post-game presser. “If tomorrow doesn’t happen, it’ll be a disappointment, but we put ourselves in this situation. We’re all grown men about it. We could have made a ton of plays, but we can’t look back and dwell on it.”

Todd Bowles’ words reflect a locker room that knows it left too much on the table. After all, the Bucs are in a position where their future rests in another team’s hands. They will now have to turn their attention to Sunday’s Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints matchup. If Atlanta wins, a three-way tie would favor Carolina through tiebreakers, effectively ending Tampa Bay’s playoff hopes.

That looming possibility explains Bowles’ disappointing statement after the win. Why celebrate when your fate isn’t fully in your hands?

The team is in this position after they won only two of their last nine games. But now, nothing can be done. He hopes that the Saints walk away with a win, so that his team can be favored in a three-way tie.

This outcome is especially jarring given how the season started for the Bucs. After opening 6-2, the Bucs collapsed down the stretch. Now, they need a win or tie from the Saints, who will be missing key star players like wide receiver Chris Olave and running back Alvin Kamara, to clinch a fifth straight NFC South title.

So, no matter how this shakes out, the NFC South champion will finish under .500 at 8–9. The inconsistency has been particularly baffling from Tampa Bay as they actually got healthier while the season went on.

And before the Week 18 game, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield didn’t shy away from accountability either. 

“Penalties and little things that shot ourselves in the foot on offense are what really killed us in that game,” Mayfield told reporters while reflecting on his team’s earlier loss to Carolina.

It was a brutally honest and painfully accurate assessment from Mayfield, who has seen many promising moments slip away because of self-inflicted mistakes from his team. But now, while the quarterback has even accused the Saints of dirty play earlier this season, desperation changed everything for him. After the win in Week 18, he acknowledged there might be a group text or even a watch party as the Saints and Falcons play to see how things play out. Todd Bowles even echoed that sentiment, saying he plans to watch the game from home.

“That’s all we can do,” Bowles told reporters. “We can’t wait until tomorrow if we don’t win today. It was a gutsy performance. The guys fought hard. It was a hard-fought game on both sides. We came out with one, and we gave ourselves a chance. That’s all we can ask for.”

So, while Tampa Bay did not dominate in the Week 18 game, they responded when it mattered most by leaning on effort. But the harsh truth is that it might not have been enough.

Is Todd Bowles’ position at risk?

In the Week 18 game, the Buccaneers built a 13-7 halftime lead and held a 16-7 advantage late before Carolina’s QB Bryce Young hit wide receiver Jalen Coker for a late touchdown to cut the lead.

The game’s outcome was also heavily influenced by controversial officiating from the referees. But that’s not where it ends. It was in brutal, rain-soaked conditions that the Bucs overpowered Carolina with a massive 140–19 edge in rushing yards, setting the tone from start to finish. Bucs’ kicker Chase McLaughlin’s three field goals made the difference in the game. But a critical 20-yard third-down completion from Baker Mayfield to tight end Cade Otton at the two-minute warning shut the door for Carolina. 

Mayfield finished the game with 16-of-22 for 203 yards with a TD and an interception. He also ran for 31 yards and moved the chains at timely moments with his offense. Despite it all, Bowles’ future is a topic of debate. 

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If Tampa Bay’s season ends with a Falcons victory, the team’s leadership will have some long-term questions. And though Bowles may have a signed contract extension along with general manager Jason Licht in the summer, it might not help him much.

Even ESPN’s Adam Schefter believes so. He opined that the Buccaneers do not want to make a coaching change, but the landscape might shift depending on how the team’s season ends.

For now, the coach can only hope the Saints walk away with a win and spin things in the Bucs’ favor. What do you think?