Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers 
WON - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17 Carolina Panthers 16
The Buccaneers closed out the season sweeping the season series against the Panthers. The game came down to the wire, with the Panthers coming within one after scoring a touchdown with 17 seconds left to play. Instead of tying it up with an extra point, Panthers failed on an attempted two-point conversion.
The Buccaneers were officially eliminated from playoff contention after the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Dallas Cowboys. However, they finished 9–7, their first winning record since finishing 10–6 in the 2010 season, and will pick 19th overall in the upcoming NFL Draft. Mike Evans tied his own franchise record with his 12th touchdown of the season and Jameis Winston broke Josh Freeman’s records for both passing yards and touchdowns in a season too.
GAMEDAY BRIEF
OFFICALS
- REFEREE: Carl Cheffers
- UMPIRE: Roy Ellison
- HEAD LINESMAN: Kent Payne
- LINE JUDGE: Tim Podraza
- SIDE JUDGE: Scott Novak
- FIELD JUDGE: Brad Freeman
- BACK JUDGE: Jim Quirk
- REPLAY OFFICAL: Charles Stewart
- MICROSOFT SURFACE SIDELINE OFFICIAL: not documented
SCORING
- BUCCANEERS: 11:02-1Q Aguayo FG33
- PANTHERS: 8:22-1Q Stewart 2 run (Gano kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 14:19-3Q Grimes 31 interception return (Aguayo kick)
- PANTHERS: 6:37-3Q Gano FG54
- BUCCANEERS: 3:13-4Q Evans 10 pass from Winston (Aguayo kick)
- PANTHERS: 0:17-4Q Benjamin 5 pass from Newton (pass failed)
STARTERS OFFENSE
- WR: #89 R. Shepard
- TE: #82 B. Myers
- LT: #76 D. Smith
- LG: #64 K. Pamphile
- C: #68 J. Hawley
- RG: #74 A. Marpet
- RT: #69 D. Dotson
- WR: #13 M. Evans
- TE: #88 L. Stocker
- QB: #03 J. Winston
- RB: #32 J. Rodgers
STARTERS DEFENSE
- NB: #57 N. Spence
- DT: #93 G. McCoy
- DT: #98 C. McDonald
- DE: #75 D. Lambert
- MLB: #58 K. Alexander
- WLB: #54 L. David
- CB: #35 J. Elliott
- CB: #28 V. Hargreaves
- CB: #24 B. Grimes
- S: #37 K. Tandy
- S: #30 B. McDougald
SUBSTITUTIONS
- 9 Anger, 11 Humphries, 16 Martino, 19 Aguayo, 21 Verner, 23 Conte, 26 Robinson, 29 R Smith, 43 Barber, 45 Cross, 46 Johnson, 48 DePaola, 51 Da Smith, 52 Lynch, 53 Glanton, 62 Smith, 70 Siliga, 78 Cherilus, 91 Ayers, 96 Russell, 97 Spence
DID NOT PLAY
- 8 Glennon, 15 Huff, 44 Hansbrough
INACTIVE
- 4 Griffin, 18 Reedy, 66 Wester, 67 Hughes, 71 Ward, 77 Benenoch, 92 Gholston
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
- BUCCANEERS: Rodgers 17-75, Barber 5-19, Winston 3-18.
- PANTHERS: Stewart 20-65, Tolbert 3-24, Ginn 2-24, Whittaker 4-9, Newton 3-6.
PASSING
- BUCCANEERS: Winston 35-20-202-1-1.
- PANTHERS: Newton 32-18-237-3-1.
RECIEVING
- BUCCANEERS: Humphries 10-94, Evans 5-65, Shepard 2-29, Martino 1-9, Rodgers 1-4, Stocker 1-1.
- PANTHERS: Benjamin 6-93, Ginn 4-69, Olsen 3-22, Brown 2-20, Byrd 1-16, Bersin 1-10, Stewart 1-7.
INTERCEPTIONS
- BUCCANEERS: Tandy 2-28, Grimes 1-31.
- PANTHERS: Bradberry 1-5.
KICK RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: none
- PANTHERS: Whittaker 1-35, Byrd 1-31.
PUNT RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Humphies 2-7.
- PANTHERS: Ginn 1-0.
SACKS
- BUCCANEERS: David 2-22, Ayers 1-8.
- PANTHERS: Addison 1-7, Ealy 1-7, Horton 1-0
