“Out of bullets, out of lives.” That’s how Baker Mayfield described the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' mindset heading into the regular season finale against the Carolina Panthers.
The Bucs need to win on Saturday to even have a chance at the playoffs. They’d still need some help from the New Orleans Saints to get there, but at least they’ll have a shot. A loss against the Panthers automatically eliminates Tampa Bay from playoff contention.
The Bucs have everything on the line on Saturday. The entire coaching staff finds themselves on the hot seat, several iconic Bucs players could be playing their final career games, and it sure feels like this game could represent the end of an era for Buccaneers football. Here’s hoping the team responds accordingly.
3 bold predictions for Buccaneers vs. Panthers in Week 18
Lavonte David goes out with a bang in his final game
If the Buccaneers fail to make the postseason, Sunday is almost certainly Lavonte David’s final game as a Buccaneer.
As he approaches his expected retirement, David is just 7 tackles away from surpassing Derrick Brooks as the franchise’s all-time leading tackler. In 16 games this season, David has recorded 7+ tackles in eight of them, so stats say he has about a 50% chance of making Bucs history.
If it is indeed David’s last hoorah, he won’t go out quietly in front of the Raymond James Stadium crowd.
Bold Prediction: Lavonte David records 10 tackles in his final career regular season game and sets a new franchise record on his way into retirement.
Mike Evans continues his dominance against the Panthers
David isn’t the only Buccaneer facing retirement rumors. There is a lot of speculation surrounding Mike Evans’ future, as his contract expires at the conclusion of the season and he has been noncommittal about his plans for next season and beyond.
The organization has further fueled the speculation with their decision to give away Mike Evans bobbleheads to the first 13,000 fans in attendance. The team calls it “a tribute to his legendary career and commitment to Tampa Bay,” which sounds a lot like a potential parting message.
If Saturday ends up being Evans’ final regular season game in front of the Buccaneers faithful, he’s going to light up the stat sheet. After all, Evans has been more successful against Carolina than any other team — he’s recorded more receptions, yards, and touchdowns against them than any other opponent.
Bold Prediction: Mike Evans records 100+ receiving yards and a touchdown in what could be the final game of his legendary career.
Baker Mayfield ends the season on a high note
The entire Bucs team has struggled since the bye, as evidenced by their 1-7 record over the last eight games. But nobody is in need of a bounce back game more than Baker Mayfield.
After an MVP caliber first half of the season, Mayfield’s play has fallen off a cliff. He’s thrown an interception in four consecutive games, which is tied for the longest active streak in the NFL. Tampa Bay is now 0-8 on the season when Mayfield throws an interception.
On Saturday, with the season on the line, Mayfield will pick apart the Panthers defense, and protect the football in the process.
Bold Prediction: Baker Mayfield throws 3 touchdowns against the Panthers and doesn’t commit any turnovers, turning in his best performance of the second half of the season and leading the Bucs to a win in the regular season finale.