TAMPA (SNN-TV) – The Carolina Panthers, with nothing to lose and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a playoff seed and a franchise record to gain, clashed in the regular season finale yesterday at Raymond James Stadium.
With a 41-17 dominating win, the Bucs earned their third in a row and seventh in their last eight outings, and improved to 13-4, the best regular-season mark in franchise history.
When the Los Angeles Rams subsequently lost to the San Francisco 49ers in overtime, the Buccaneers moved up to the second seed in the NFC playoff standings.
Brady completed 29 of 37 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns before taking the last half of the fourth quarter off, finishing with a career-best 5,316 yards passing and a Bucs single-season record 43 TD passes.
Mike Evans caught two of Brady’s TD passes, giving him a club-record 14 scoring receptions this year. He also became the first player in NFL history to begin a career with eight consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 yards receiving.
After a dominant game and regular season, Bruce Arians pled Brady’s case for MVP earlier today. “If he doesn’t get it, it’s a travesty. I mean, most completions ever, 5,000 yard, [the] touchdowns, the whole nine yards. I mean, to me, it’s not even a close race.”
With their win and the 2nd seed, Tampa Bay will host Philadelphia in the wild-card round Sunday afternoon at one. Earning the No. 2 seed also ensures a second home game in two weeks if the Bucs beat the Eagles.
