TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — This isn’t a week when coach Todd Bowles feels he needs to find the right words to ensure his Tampa Bay Buccaneers are motivated to face the last-place Carolina Panthers.
The Bucs (8-7) have won eight of the last nine meetings between the NFC South rivals, including the past three with Baker Mayfield at quarterback.
It hasn’t exactly been smoothly sailing against the Panthers (4-11), though, for the three-time defending division champions.
And, with at least a share of first place on the line Sunday, Bowles and his players say they are focused solely on rebounding from last week’s disappointing loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
“We know it’s going to be a tough ballgame. It went overtime last time. They’re coached very well; they play very hard,” Bowles said, referencing Tampa Bay’s 26-23 win at Carolina on Dec. 1.
“We know what’s at stake for us. It doesn’t need to be talked about. Everybody understands that,” Bowles added. “We’ve got to clean up our own mistakes, and we’ve got to play an error-free football game.”
The Bucs are tied with Atlanta for the best record in the NFC South, however the Falcons (8-7) hold the tiebreaker after sweeping the season series between the teams.
To claim a fourth straight division title, Tampa Bay needs to win remaining home games against the Panthers and New Orleans Saints while Atlanta loses at least once in the last two weeks of the regular season.
If the Falcons hold on to win the South, the Bucs can earn a wild-card playoff berth if they win out and the Washington Commanders lose twice.
Mayfield, who has resurrected his career since being released by Carolina two years ago, summed up the attitude in a resilient locker room.
The Bucs have won four of five games following a four-game losing streak threatened their playoff hopes.
“I keep saying it, this team has the mental makeup of a great team. We just have to continue to fight and find ways to win,” the quarterback said. “If we don’t take of business, we won’t be in the playoffs.”
Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard cost his team the game four weeks ago against Tampa Bay when he fumbled on the second possession of overtime just after Carolina had reached field goal range.
Mayfield responded by leading the Bucs back down the field for the winning field goal.
The loss was devastating for Hubbard at the time, but he promised himself when the opportunity arose again he’d make the most of it. He did that this past Sunday, when he carried twice for 49 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown run in which he broke two tackles, in overtime to lift the Panthers to a 36-30 win over Arizona, knocking the Cardinals out of the playoff hunt.
“I’d let it go, but it’s definitely been in the back of my head a little bit,” Hubbard said. “Like I said, when the next opportunity came, I told myself I’m going to get it back for them. To be able to have them trust me in that opportunity again, and to have it in that way is a blessing from God.”
Bryce Young has shown solid progress in his decision making, particularly when the pocket begins to break down. Last week, the second-year QB ran for a career-best 68 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown.
Young was benched after two games this season, but since returning to the lineup has played better, restoring some faith that perhaps the No. 1 overall pick in 2023 can be the team’s quarterback of the future.
“Just time in the system and time as a team for us to come together,” Young said of why he has improved. “For me, being able to get reps, and get time with everyone. It’s just all of us being able to feed off of each other, and it’s been able to allow us to turn in the right direction.”
The Panthers have been abysmal against the run, allowing nearly 200 yards per game on the ground over the last seven games. In the last meeting with Tampa Bay, Bucky Irving ran for a career-high 152 yards and a touchdown, so Carolina’s defense has a good idea of what's coming Sunday.
Mayfield has beaten Carolina three times since joining the Bucs in 2023. All of the meetings have been close, though, with the Panthers losing twice by three points and Tampa Bay settling for three field goals in a 9-0 regular season-ending victory that clinched its third straight NFC South championship last January.
“We know them well. They know us well,” Mayfield said.
AP Sports Writer Steve Reed in Charlotte, North Carolina, contributed to this report.
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Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young passes against the Arizona Cardinals during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard celebrates after a long run against the Arizona Cardinals during overtime of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) prepares to throw a pass in the second half of an NFL football game agianst the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Azerbaijan's flag carrier announced Friday that it will suspend flights to several Russian airports, citing potential flight safety risks after a crash of one of its planes that many experts blamed on Russian air defense fire.
Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons still unclear and crashed while making an attempt to land in Aktau in Kazakhstan after flying east across the Caspian Sea. The crash killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured.
Authorities in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia were tight-lipped about a possible cause of the crash pending an official probe, but a lawmaker in Azerbaijan blamed Moscow. Rasim Musabekov told the Azerbaijani news agency Turan on Thursday that the plane was fired on while in the skies over Grozny, and urged Russia to offer an official apology.
Asked about Musabekov's statement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment, saying that it will be up to investigators to determine the cause of the crash.
“The air incident is being investigated and we don't believe we have the right to make any assessments until the conclusions are made as a result of the investigation,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.
Investigators from Azerbaijan are working in Grozny as part of the crash probe, Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s office said in a statement.
As the official crash probe started, some aviation experts pointed out that holes seen in the plane’s tail section suggested that it could have come under fire from Russian air defense systems fending off a Ukrainian drone attack.
Ukrainian drones had previously attacked Grozny, the capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, and other regions in the country’s North Caucasus. An official in Chechnya said another drone attack on the region was fended off on Wednesday, although federal authorities didn’t report it.
FlightRadar24 said in an online post that the aircraft had faced “strong GPS jamming” that interfered with flight tracking data. Russia has extensively used sophisticated jamming equipment to fend off drone attacks.
Following Wednesday's suspension of flights from Baku to Grozy and Makhachkala, Azerbaiajan Airlines on Friday also halted service to more Russian cities, cutting air links to Mineralnye Vody, Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa, Samara.
It said in a statement that the flights will be suspended “following the preliminary results of the investigation into the crash of the Embraer 190 aircraft operating flight J2-8243 from Baku to Grozny, caused by physical and technical interference, and considering potential risks to flight safety.”
The company will continue to operate flights to six other Russian cities including Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kazan. Those cities also have been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drone strikes in the past.
Kazakhstan's Qazaq Air also announced Friday that it was suspending flights from Astana to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains for a month.
The day before, Israeli El Al suspended flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow citing “developments in Russia’s airspace." The airline said it would reassess the situation next week to decide whether to resume the flights.
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Associated Press writer Aida Sultanova contributed to this report from London.
Rescuers transport wounded passengers from a medical plane after the Azerbaijani Airline crashed, near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau, upon their arrival at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport outside Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo)
The head of the Azerbaijani diaspora in St. Petersburg Vagif Mamishev lays flowers at the Consulate of Azerbaijan in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Cadets of the aviation school lay flowers in memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau, at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport outside Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo)
Workers carry a coffin with a body of a victim from a medical plane after the Azerbaijani Airline crashed, near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau, upon their arrival at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport outside Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo)
Wounded passengers of the Azerbaijani Airline's plane crashed near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau, are transported from a medical plane at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport outside Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo)
In this photo released by Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry Press Service, a rescuer search at the wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 laying on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this photo taken from a video released by the administration of Mangystau region, a part of Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 lies on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (The Administration of Mangystau Region via AP)
