Sunday was a close call for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, one that fans have grown used to seeing out of the team over the years. Despite how badly it seemed the Bucs were trying to give the game away, Tampa Bay snatched victory from the jaws of defeat to claim one of its ugliest wins of the season.
It's a win that puts them within striking distance of the Falcons for first place in the NFC South and just a game behind the Commanders for the No. 7 seed in the playoffs. Tampa Bay's playoff window widened thanks to what happened on Sunday, but it all came at quite a cost.
Rookie running back Bucky Irving had the best game of this career so far, rushing for 154 yards and a touchdown while continuing to look like a draft steal. He also suffered an injury midway through the game that didn't stop him from making a difference but did seem to weigh on him after the win.
Bucky Irving didn't sound very happy that the Buccaneers barely beat the Panthers
There are two things to take away from footage of Bucky walking back to the Bucs' locker room after the win. The first and most notable is that he had his hip wrapped in what looks like a heating pad while walking with a limp.
On Monday Irving indicated to the media that he was fine and wouldn't be missing any time moving forward, which is a major relief. However, that means the main takeaway from this video then becomes his comments about not being able to put the Panthers away sooner.
The star of the night, Bucky Irving walks to the locker room with his hip wrapped up with ice.
— Cam Gaskins (@CamGaskinsTV) December 2, 2024
“Shoulda put they ass away” pic.twitter.com/TXUIpBZJux
Of course, this was right after the heat of battle and an emotional game that saw things bubble over well after the final whistle had blown. Panthers safety Sam Franklin was seen in the tunnel needing to be escorted away from confronting Jose Ramirez after the game, while Sterling Shepard also needed to be held back from escelating the sitiation.
The question Bucs fans will have is who Irving is referring to. It's easy to draw a line to his comments being about Todd Bowles' defense allowing the Panthers to score and take a late lead which is how it will likely be interpreted by fans already beating that drum.
It could also be about the offense wasting some valuable possessions that would have negated the need for overtime. Baker Mayfield threw two interceptions that led to six points by Carolina, and the offense sputtered on its penultimate drive by failing to reach the endzone and put the game out of reach.
Whoever the comment was about -- the likeliest answer is it's a collective grumble -- Irving isn't wrong. Tampa Bay is a better team than Carolina but hardly looked like it for most of the game on Sunday, which is troubling. The Bucs have zero margin for error down the stretch of the season and can't afford to have the sort of game they did agaisnt the Panthers against a team like the Chargers or Saints -- or the Panthers again in Week 17.
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