After the turn of a new year, the Bucs returned to Raymond James Stadium on Saturday afternoon for one final chance at keeping their NFC South reign alive and extending it to five seasons while keeping their playoff streak alive at six seasons. They knew they would need some help in the form of a Saints victory over the Falcons on Sunday, but first things first, and that was a win over the division-leading Panthers.

The first half featured a heavy downpour, which certainly impacted the game. The Bucs did what they did two weeks ago when these two teams met in Charlotte and pounded the rock in an effort to control the time of possession and grind down the Panthers. There’s an argument to be made that it worked better this time around, though it only led to a 13-7 halftime lead for them despite massive disparities in possession, plays ran, total yards and just about everything.

The rain stopped during halftime, but the third quarter was still a slog. The two sides traded punts and played their way to a scoreless quarter, bringing the six-point gap into the fourth quarter.

A Chase McLaughlin field goal early in the fourth extended the Bucs’ lead to 16-7, but the Panthers wouldn’t go away. They got within 16-14 with 2:27 to go, but the Buccaneer offense did just enough to salt the game away and hang on for a 16-14 win.

With the victory, Tampa Bay snapped its four-game losing streak and finished the regular season at 8-9. Now, the team needs a New Orleans win at Atlanta on Sunday afternoon in order to sneak into the playoffs as NFC South champions for a fifth straight season.

Here’s a recap of all the action from Saturday’s ugly, ugly game at Ray Jay:

Bucs 16, Panthers 14

The Bucs got the ball to open things up and put together a methodical drive down the field. A heavy dose of Bucky Irving with a 13-yard completion from Baker Mayfield to Mike Evans mixed in got the ball into Panthers territory, then after getting inside the red zone, they drew first blood. Mayfield fired an 18-yard touchdown over the middle to Cade Otton and after Chase McLaughlin’s PAT, the home team went up 7-0 with 9:31 to go in the first quarter.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Nathan Ray Seebeck

The pressure was then on the Tampa Bay defense to keep the momentum going, and after an early Elijah Roberts personal foul made that look unlikely, Todd Bowles’ side of the ball got the job done and forced a punt.

The Bucs offense went right down the field once again on its next possession, with Mayfield finding Evans to get things started with a 21-yard gain near midfield. After Mayfield later extended the drive with a scramble that ultimately drew a Mike Jackson taunting penalty, Tampa Bay stalled out. Still, a 29-yard field goal from McLaughlin extended the lead to 10-0 and killed another 5:27 off the clock in the opening quarter.

By the end of the first quarter, the Bucs still held that 10-0 lead and had a time of possession advantage of 10:56 to 4:04.

After the Buccaneer defense got another stop to start the second quarter, the offense went back to work. That possession didn’t get far, though, as Mayfield threw a bad interception right to Christian Rozeboom, who returned it to the Tampa Bay 19.

Three plays later, the Panthers were within 10-7 thanks to an 8-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Young to Tommy Tremble. Despite out-possessing the visitors 13:26 to 5:44 and outgaining them 147-46 at that point, the Bucs led just 10-7.

After a disaster of a drive by the Buccaneer offense on its ensuing possession, the Panthers had a chance to tie the game or take the lead just before halftime and then get the ball again out of the break to double up. Instead, just after the two-minute warning, rookie Jacob Parrish jumped a Young pass and held onto it for his second interception of the season. With that, the Bucs took back over at their own 42-yard line with a 10-7 lead and 1:51 to work with.

Todd Bowles bizarrely allowed over a minute of clock to run off by the time the offense ran its third play of the ensuing possession. Some magic from Mayfield extended the drive, but from there, the Bucs just played it as conservative as possible, running three straight times and calling their three timeouts before McLaughlin came out to drill a 36-yard field goal just before halftime.

Bucs K Chase McLaughlin – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Nathan Ray Seebeck

At the break, the Bucs were outgaining the Panthers 216-79, outrushing them 87-4 and outpossessing them 21:44 to 8:16. But they led by just six at 13-7.

Out of halftime, the Panthers converted an early fourth down and then worked their way into Bucs territory with a pass from Young to Tetairoa McMillan. But after a backward pass lost them 7 yards and an incomplete pass on second down set up 3rd & 17, the Tampa Bay defense got off the field and forced a Ryan Fitzgerald field goal try. That try from 54 yards out came nowhere close to going through, which kept the home team in front by six.

The Bucs didn’t do anything with their ensuing possession, staying conservative by taking a delay of game on 4th & 2 at the Panthers’ 48 to gain some more room for a Riley Dixon punt, which was caught at the 7-yard line.

Carolina looked to get moving out of its own territory and briefly found itself into Tampa Bay territory, but a questionable offensive pass interference penalty called on McMillan erased a big third-down conversion. After an incompletion on the next play, the Panthers had to punt.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Nathan Ray Seebeck

Given another chance to add to their lead, the Bucs got the benefit of another iffy call as Otton drew a defensive pass interference penalty despite simply getting his feet tangled up with Nick Scott’s as Mayfield scrambled around looking for an open man. That got the ball inside the Panthers’ 40, but the offense remained conservative and stuck with the ground game to bring up a 3rd & 8 to start the fourth quarter.

After another Mayfield scramble failed to move the chains, Tampa Bay settled for another McLaughlin field goal try. He connected from 48 yards out, extending the lead to 16-7 with 14:12 to play.

And just as the Panthers looked to be getting right back within one possession, they curiously attempted a flea flicker deep in Bucs territory. But the pitch back to Young hit the ground for a fumble and Lavonte David was there to recover it and make some NFL history in the process.

The offense turned that takeaway into a sustained drive, too, with Mayfield finding Tez Johnson for a 17-yard gain before Otton later took a screen 12 yards to the 25 just as the halfway point of the fourth quarter came around. The Bucs eventually settled for yet another McLaughlin field goal try, and this time, a low snap led to a block, which kept the lead at 16-7 with 5:12 to go.

The Panthers weren’t going to go quietly, not even when facing a 4th & 8 with the game on the line. The Bucs brought a heavy blitz, but Tetairoa McMillan got behind Jacob Parrish and Young hung in the pocket to unload a 40-yard completion to his rookie receiver. Two plays later, Young found Jalen Coker for an 8-yard touchdown to get within 16-14 with 2:27 left.

Panthers QB Bryce Young – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Nathan Ray Seebeck

The Bucs ran the ball twice to open their next drive, which led to two Panthers timeouts. But a huge 20-yard conversion from Mayfield to Otton on 3rd & 4 got the game to the two-minute warning. After Carolina called its final timeout at the 1:56 mark, Tampa Bay soon faced another third down with a chance to put the game away.

On 3rd & 6 with 1:11 to go, Josh Grizzard ran it with Bucky Irving again. He got just 2 yards, so the Bucs opted to take a delay of game penalty and punt the ball away with 26 seconds to go. Dixon dropped the punt down to the Panthers’ 3-yard line, all but sealing the deal.

After two completions and some crazy lateral foolishness on the second one, Benjamin Morrison recovered the loose ball and the Bucs hung on for a 16-14 victory.

Baker Mayfield completed 16 of his 22 passes for 203 yards, a touchdown and an interception on the day. He also ran four times for 31 yards and kept some plays alive with his legs, serving as the catalyst he needed to be in a must-win game.

Tampa Bay certainly remained committed to the run and controlled possession as a result. Bucky Irving ran 26 times for 85 yards, while Rachaad White ran seven times for 23 yards. The Bucs outpossessed the Panthers 37:25 to 22:35 and outrushed them 140-19.

Jacob Parrish had a key interception in the first half, while Lavonte David had a critical fumble recovery in the second half. And to end the night, Benjamin Morrison recovered a fumbled lateral to make it three takeaways for the Tampa Bay defense.

Now, the Bucs (8-9) will wait. They need the Saints to beat or tie the Falcons in Atlanta on Sunday in order to have their season continue into Wild Card Weekend. Kickoff for that game between New Orleans and Atlanta is set for 1:00 p.m.