McLaughlin's field goal in OT helps Bucs beat Panthers 26-23, move into 1st-place tie in NFC South

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — When Baker Mayfield felt Jadeveon Clowney step on the back of his right ankle in the third quarter, he feared he'd torn his Achilles tendon.

For a brief moment, he worried his season was over.

Luckily for the Buccaneers, it turned out to be much less serious.

Mayfield returned to the game after missing just two plays and led four more scoring drives, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Carolina Panthers 26-23 in overtime on a 30-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin on Sunday to move into a tie for first place in the NFC South.

“Honestly, it scared the daylights out of me," Mayfield said. “I’ve seen some people pop their Achilles before and they say it feels like you get cleated in the back. Obviously not knowing what had happened, I thought that’s what I did. It was a little painful but I got taped up again and went back out there.”

Bucky Irving ran for a career-high 152 yards and a touchdown for the Bucs (6-6), who caught Atlanta atop the division.

Mayfield finished 21 of 33 for 235 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions to improve to 4-0 against the Panthers, who cut him in 2022. Mike Evans had five catches for 118 yards, including a one-handed grab on a 1-yard touchdown catch for Tampa Bay.

“Mike’s a grown man," Mayfield said. “I don’t how he caught that ball. He’s proven time and time again for 11 years that he can do it.”

Bryce Young and the Panthers were moving into position for a game-winning score in overtime when Adam Thielen hauled in a one-handed grab to reach Tampa Bay territory. But Chuba Hubbard fumbled on the next play and Mayfield took over.

He connected with Evans for 21 yards, and Rashaad White broke free for a 38-yard run to reach the Carolina 10 and set up McLaughlin’s fourth field goal of the game.

“The football gods were kind to us,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said. “The first half of the season, we wouldn’t have finished that one out. We did a heck of a job fighting back all game. It was a tough game. They played tough. We played tough. We made mistakes in the first half of the season and, this game, we pulled it out. We learned some mental toughness.”

The loss assured the Panthers (3-9) of their seventh straight losing season.

A dejected Hubbard sat on the Carolina bench for several minutes after the game while his teammates headed to the locker room.

“I hold myself to a high standard and we are trying to change things around here and that's not helping with anything,” Hubbard said. “So I've got to be better and all I can do is just work. It happened and I have to grow from it.”

Young was 26 of 46 passing for 298 yards and led a 60-yard drive that concluded on a 25-yard scoring toss to Thielen with 30 seconds left in regulation to briefly give Carolina a 23-20 lead, leaving Bank of America Stadium shaking.

However, Young did not try to jump on the Hubbard's fumble in overtime, a gaffe reminiscent of Cam Newton's costly decision in Carolina's Super Bowl 50 loss to the Denver Broncos.

“It was a reaction,” Young said without further explanation.

Panthers coach Dave Canales said he's thrilled with Young's progression, but lamented the team's mistakes in its latest loss.

“We have to put together a full complement of quarters, a full four quarters to become the team that we want to become,” Canales said.

Carolina's Eddy Pineiro entered the game as the most accurate field goal kicker in NFL history before a disastrous second quarter in which he missed from 38 and 45 yards. The misses came after Pineiro tied a franchise record with his 41st straight made field goal at home.

The Buccaneers lost LB K.J. Britt (ankle) and S Mike Edwards (hamstring) to injuries in the first half, while Panthers TE Stephen Sullivan (knee) left in the second half.

Umpire Carl Paganelli was injured 45 seconds into the game and had to leave on a cart, leaving a six-man officiating crew.

Buccaneers: Host Las Vegas next Sunday.

Panthers: At Philadelphia next Sunday.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield passes against the Carolina Panthers during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is hurt against the Carolina Panthers during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is sacked by Carolina Panthers during overtime an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers place kicker Chase McLaughlin kicks the game winning field goal against the Carolina Panthers during overtime an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young breaks away form Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Yaya Diaby during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young passes against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young celebrates after scoring with guard Robert Hunt against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)

Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard is tackled by Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker SirVocea Dennis during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans catches a touchdown pass ahead of Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young runs past Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Calijah Kancey during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving is tackled by the Carolina Panthers during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)

Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn breaks up a pass intended for Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Sterling Shepard during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers place kicker Chase McLaughlin watches his field goal against the Carolina Panthers during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers place kicker Chase McLaughlin kicks a field goal to tie the game during the second half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, on Sunday night, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family members.

The Democratic president had previously said he would not pardon his son or commute his sentence after his convictions in the two cases in Delaware and California. The move comes weeks before Hunter Biden was set to receive his punishment after his trial conviction in the gun case and guilty plea on tax charges, and less than two months before President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House.

It caps a long-running legal saga for the younger Biden, who publicly disclosed he was under federal investigation in December 2020 — a month after his father’s 2020 victory — and casts a pall over the elder Biden's legacy. Biden, who time and again pledged to Americans that he would restore norms and respect for the rule of law after Trump's first term in office, ultimately used his position to help his son, breaking his public pledge to Americans that he would do no such thing.

In June, Biden categorically ruled out a pardon or commutation for his son, telling reporters as his son faced trial in the Delaware gun case, “I abide by the jury decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him.”

As recently as Nov. 8, days after Trump’s victory, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ruled out a pardon or clemency for the younger Biden, saying, “We’ve been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands, which is no.”

The elder Biden has publicly stood by his only living son as Hunter descended into serious drug addiction and threw his family life into turmoil, before pulling himself out in recent years. His political rivals have long used Hunter Biden’s myriad mistakes as a political cudgel against his father: in one hearing, lawmakers displayed half-naked photos of the drug addled president’s son in a seedy hotel.

And House Republicans sought to use the younger Biden's years of questionable overseas business ventures in a since-abandoned attempt to impeach his father, who has long denied involvement in his son's dealings or benefiting from them in any way.

In a statement released Sunday evening, Biden said, “I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice."

“The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election,” Biden added. "No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son.”

“I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision,” Biden added, claiming he made the decision this weekend. The president had spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Nantucket, Massachusetts with Hunter and his family, and was set to depart later Sunday on what may be his last foreign trip as president before leaving office on Jan. 20, 2025.

Hunter Biden was convicted in June in Delaware federal court of three felonies for purchasing a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors said, he lied on a federal form by claiming he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.

He was set to stand trial in September in the California case accusing him of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. But he agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor and felony charges in a surprise move hours after jury selection was set to begin.

David Weiss, the Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney in Delaware who negotiated the plea deal, was subsequently named a special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland to have more autonomy over the prosecution of the president's son.

Hunter Biden said he was pleading guilty in that case to spare his family more pain and embarrassment after the gun trial aired salacious details about his struggles with a crack cocaine addiction.

The tax charges carry up to 17 years behind bars and the gun charges are punishable by up to 25 years in prison, though federal sentencing guidelines were expected to call for far less time and it was possible he would avoid prison time entirely.

Hunter Biden was supposed to be sentenced this month in the two federal cases, which the special counsel brought after a plea deal with prosecutors that likely would have spared him prison time fell apart under scrutiny by a judge. Under the original deal, Hunter was supposed to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses and and would have avoided prosecution in the gun case as long as he stayed out of trouble for two years.

But the plea hearing quickly unraveled last year when the judge raised concerns about unusual aspects of the deal. He was subsequently indicted in the two cases.

The sweeping pardon covers not just those offenses, but also any other “offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024."

Hunter Biden’s legal team this weekend released a 52-page white paper titled “The political prosecutions of Hunter Biden,” describing the president’s son as a “surrogate to attack and injure his father, both as a candidate in 2020 and later as president.” Hunter Biden’s lawyers have long argued that prosecutors bowed to political pressure to indict the president’s son amid heavy criticism by Trump and other Republicans of what they called the “sweetheart” plea deal.

Both cases against the younger Biden were somewhat unusual. Criminal tax cases generally are rare, legal experts have said, and the gun offenses are usually brought alongside other more serious charges. In Hunter Biden’s case, his lawyers noted that he had the gun for 11 days and never fired it. And the back taxes he owed were repaid before he was supposed to stand trial.

Rep. James Comer, one of the Republican chairmen leading congressional investigations into Biden's family, blasted the president’s decision to issue his son a pardon, saying that the evidence against Hunter was “just the tip of the iceberg.”

“It’s unfortunate that, rather than come clean about their decades of wrongdoing, President Biden and his family continue to do everything they can to avoid accountability,” Comer said on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.

Biden is hardly the first president to deploy his pardon powers to benefit those close to him.

In his final weeks in office, Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in law, Jared Kushner, as well as multiple allies convicted in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Trump over the weekend announced plans to nominate the elder Kushner to be the U.S. envoy to France in his next administration.

Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump, who has pledged to dramatically overhaul and install loyalists across the Justice Department after he was prosecuted for his role in trying to subvert the 2020 presidential election, said in a statement, “That system of justice must be fixed and due process must be restored for all Americans, which is exactly what President Trump will do as he returns to the White House with an overwhelming mandate from the American people.”

Hunter Biden said in an emailed statement that he will never take for granted the relief granted to him and vowed to devote the life he has rebuilt “to helping those who are still sick and suffering.”

“I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction – mistakes that have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sport,” the younger Biden said.

Hunter Biden’s legal team filed Sunday night in both Los Angeles and Delaware asking the judges handling his gun and tax cases to immediately dismiss them, citing the pardon.

A spokesperson for Weiss did not respond to messages seeking comment Sunday night.

Associated Press writer Josh Boak in Nantucket, Massachusetts contributed to this report.

FILE - President Joe Biden, wearing a Team USA jacket and walking with his son Hunter Biden, heads toward Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, July 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

President Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden walk in downtown Nantucket Mass., Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

President Joe Biden speaks on the South Lawn of the White House during a ceremony to commemorate World AIDS Day with survivors, their families and advocates, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)