The NFC South isn’t really going into the playoffs. History won’t remember that, only that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got the job done.
It was far from the safe thing it was supposed to be. The Buccaneers suffered a tough test from a New Orleans Saints team that had been decimated by injuries and had little chance of competing with the Buccaneers, who would clinch the NFC South with a win or a Atlanta Falcons’ loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. .
Remember, heading into Week 18 of next season, it’s often a mistake to believe a team will give up because they have “nothing to play for.”
The Saints put together a spirited effort and led in the fourth quarter. In the end, the Buccaneers were right. Baker Mayfield threw a touchdown to Jalen McMillan in the fourth quarter to give the Bucs their first lead of the game. The Buccaneers scored an insurance touchdown in the final two minutes, but the Saints drove down the field with a chance to tie. Tampa Bay got the stop it needed and won the division title with an ugly 27-19 victory.
They even allowed Mike Evans to achieve his season’s 1,000-yard rushing game on the final play of the game, keeping his streak alive. He totaled 1,000 yards in 11 consecutive seasons, tying Jerry Rice’s NFL record.
This meant that the Falcons’ game against the Panthers, which surprisingly went into overtime, meant nothing by the time the extra period began. The Falcons were eliminated when the Buccaneers won. It’s probably better for the Falcons anyway, as they lost 44-38 in overtime as Bryce Young had three passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns. This loss would have been horribly embarrassing if the Buccaneers had also lost. Now this will mostly be a footnote.
The NFC South race seemed over well before Sunday when the Falcons lost in overtime at Washington in Week 17. The Buccaneers were facing the woebegone Saints, who had lost their previous two games by a combined score of 59-10. Once the Buccaneers won, they would be on their way to the playoffs.
But two strange things happened. The Saints never trailed in the first three quarters in Tampa Bay. Meanwhile, the Falcons were battling the Panthers. The Buccaneers and Falcons both trailed early in the fourth quarter of their games. It looked for a while like both teams might lose, meaning the Buccaneers could get back to the division title in the ugliest way possible.
The Buccaneers finally got things going in the fourth quarter. Mayfield hit McMillan 33 yards on a key fourth-and-8. McMillan received a 15-yard penalty after the play for what officials apparently considered a gun gesture by McMillan after the first down. The rookie made up for it with a touchdown to give the Bucs the lead.
The Falcons rallied at the same time. Right after McMillan scored in Tampa Bay, Drake London continued his huge day with a touchdown to bring the Falcons into a tie with the Panthers. It was a fun day for NFL RedZone. Ultimately, the Buccaneers did just enough to win.
The Buccaneers trailed 16-6 at halftime and Mayfield was 0-41 in his career when trailing by at least 10 points. The Bucs were clearly in trouble. But they are headed to the playoffs. It’s a big accomplishment to come from behind and win the NFC South, when it looked like the Falcons were going to run away after a season sweep against the Buccaneers. And even though Tampa Bay wasn’t great on Sunday, the Bucs won’t have an easy playoff run.
Here are the winners and losers for Week 18 of the NFL season:
WINNERS
Marcus Mariota: There was a big difference for the Washington Commanders in securing the sixth seed. That meant they would avoid a date in Philadelphia on a wild-card weekend. Washington needed a win to ensure it got the No. 6 seed and didn’t fall to No. 7. Despite this, the Commanders still pulled rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels to start the second half.
Mariota got the job done off the bench. He broke a huge 33-yard run on a quarterback on fourth-and-1 in the final minute, then hit Terry McLaurin for a game-winning touchdown with three seconds left to beat the Dallas Cowboys 23-19. The Commanders earned the sixth seed in the NFC playoffs.
Mariota was great in a relief role. He was 15 of 18 for 181 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran for 56 yards. Daniels had a historic rookie season, but the Commanders didn’t even need him to beat the Cowboys on Sunday.
Joe Milton III: Week 18 is for players like Milton. The New England Patriots weren’t interested in putting their best foot forward in the Finals, considering a loss would land them the top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. So Drake Maye played one series and was replaced by Milton, the raw rookie who made some flashy plays in the preseason.
And Milton played well. Good enough that New England didn’t get that loss that most Patriots fans probably wanted. He looked like what the Colts thought they were getting with Anthony Richardson, just with a sixth-round cost.
The Patriots blew their chance at the top pick in the draft by beating the Bills 23-16, who were playing mostly alternates with the No. 2 seed already clinched. Milton led the way, completing 22 of 29 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown, with a rushing touchdown as well. The Patriots heard from coach Jerod Mayo after the game, but it was a pretty big day for Milton in his career journey.
Jonathan Taylor: Taylor can rest during the offseason.
The Indianapolis Colts placed a high priority on winning Sunday, a week after a dreadful loss to the New York Giants knocked them out of the playoff race. Maybe it’s because head coach Shane Steichen was worried about his future after that miserable loss. The Colts ran on Taylor often, giving him 34 carries for 177 yards in a 26-23 overtime victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars that could mark the end of the Doug Pederson era.
Taylor had another good season. He will be one of the Colts’ staples as they attempt to bounce back from a disappointing season without a playoff berth.
LOSERS
Brian Callahan: Improvement is key for first-year head coaches. Improvement from the previous season, and improvement from the start to the end of the season.
Callahan checked neither box. The Tennessee Titans are worse than they were last season and they’re probably worse than they were in the first month or so of this season. The Titans finished Callahan’s first season on a six-game losing streak, a skid that helped them land the top pick in this NFL draft. On Sunday, they lost 23-14 to a Houston Texans team that was already locked into the No. 4 seed and started holding in the first quarter. The Titans allowed running back Dameon Pierce to break off a 92-yard touchdown run, a good way to sum up the Titans’ late-season effort and execution.
There hasn’t been much speculation that Callahan wouldn’t return for a second season. Maybe there should be.
Christian Watson and maybe Jordan Love: The Green Bay Packers had to play against their starters and try to win. The difference between the No. 6 seed and the No. 7 seed, the latter of which was scheduled to travel to Philadelphia on a wild-card weekend, was huge.
But it was expensive. Watson suffered a serious non-contact knee injury. Shortly after, Love left after being hit in the arm and did not return due to an elbow injury.
The Packers didn’t even get the win or sixth place. The Bears scored a field goal as time expired, after the Packers took the lead with a FG in the final minute, for a 24-22 victory that sends Chicago into the offseason on a high note. That basket came at the same time the Commanders scored with three seconds left to move into sixth place, regardless of what happened in Green Bay.
The Packers are in the playoffs, but they have to play the Eagles and have injury issues. It was not a positive day for them.
New York Giants: The Giants were unable to beat Philadelphia Eagles third-string quarterback Tanner McKee as the Eagles made 11 key players inactive with the No. 2 seed clinched. But the Giants somehow won last week and missed out on landing the top pick in the NFL Draft.
There are few positives to take from the Giants’ miserable season. Malik Nabers’ solid rookie season maybe, but not much else. The Giants ended the season on a bad note, and that’s how most of their season went. They lost 20-13 to an Eagles team whose touchdown scorers were Ainias Smith and EJ Jenkins, who only die-hard preseason observers would recognize.
The Giants now have decisions to make regarding general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll. If there was still a question about what to do with it, Sunday was not a good final impression.
