Baker Mayfield, Bucs look to keep momentum alive against Panthers, former coordinator Dave Canales

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking to make a run at their fourth straight NFC South championship.

Former offensive coordinator Dave Canales stands in the way.

The Buccaneers (5-6) trail the Atlanta Falcons by one game in the NFL's weakest division entering Sunday’s showdown with the Carolina Panthers (3-8), who hired Canales away from Tampa Bay as head coach after he helped resurrect Mayfield’s career last season.

“Dave, being the optimist bully that he is, just always ‘the sun is going to shine again’ and has that belief in the next play,” Mayfield said. “It was weird. It was rare that you see a coach that actually embodied that ‘next play is the most important one’ we’re-never-out-of-the-fight type mentality. He took that literal, day to day, so it was a different kind of energy than I think anybody had been around but it was good for everybody."

The Buccaneers are coming off a 30-7 rout of the New York Giants and now have star wide receiver Mike Evans back on the field, which will help the passing game. The Bucs lost their other top wide receiver, Chris Godwin, to a season-ending dislocated left ankle earlier this year.

Mayfield, who played for the Panthers in 2022 before being released midseason, led the Bucs to a series sweep of Carolina last year.

The Panthers hired Canales in part to develop young QB Bryce Young.

He benched Young two weeks into the season but the 2023 No. 1 NFL pick regained the starting job after veteran Andy Dalton went down with a thumb injury and has played much better since. The Panthers won back-to-back games and last Sunday took the two-time Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs to the wire before losing 30-27.

Canales still hasn't committed to Young as the team's long-term solution at quarterback, but has been encouraged by his progress in recent weeks.

“Just the progress that we’re looking for as he continues to earn these moments, then, yeah, he’ll be in there,” Canales said. “And that’s what I’ve been most excited about is, is that there’s weekly growth that’s happening. And so, we’re just taking it a week at a time. I know that’s been my language, but he’s really taking responsibility for it and pushing us that way.

“And so, the bottom line is, he’s giving us a chance to win.”

Favorable schedule

The Bucs statistically have faced the most difficult schedule in the NFL entering Week 13, with eight of 11 the games they’ve played featuring opponents currently sporting a winning record.

Last week, however, began a seven-week stretch in which Tampa Bay will only play one game (at Los Angeles Chargers) against a team currently sitting above .500. The Bucs will face the Panthers (3-8) twice over that span.

While the Giants' win created some momentum, players say they aren’t making any assumptions about this week or beyond.

“Now, we’ve just got to build on it,” Mayfield said, reiterating the single-game approach it will take to be successful down the stretch.

Growing confidence

There are no moral victories in the NFL, but Carolina’s last-second close loss to the Chiefs has clearly helped a young team’s confidence after battling back from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to tie the game.

“Guys are starting to buy into what coach Canales has brought to this team,” Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen said. “There is a standard that is being set and guys know we are never out of it. Guys know that if they keep pushing and keep fighting we are never out of it.”

Getting it done on the ground, too

One of the reasons the Bucs are optimistic about their chances of reaching the playoffs for a fifth straight season is the emergence of a productive running game.

Tampa Bay has rushed for 100-plus yards in eight of 11 games this year after only doing it nine times in 32 games over the past two seasons. At 128.1 yards per game, the Bucs are 10th in the league in rushing after finishing last in 2022 and 2023.

Wounded rookies

The Panthers have relied heavily on rookie pass catchers this season, but will be without both tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders and Jalen Coker on Sunday because of injuries.

Sanders was emerging as a solid weapon in the passing game for the Panthers, and his injury leaves the Panthers without much of a receiving threat at tight end. That means Young could look more to running back Chuba Hubbard and rookie Jonathon Brooks as outlets on passing plays.

The team's other rookie wide receiver, Xavier Legette, continues to be a contributor of offense, and has played particularly well at home.

Avoiding dubious streak

The Panthers are looking to avoid their seventh straight losing season with a defeat. Carolina has not been to the playoffs since David Tepper purchased the team from founder Jerry Richardson in 2018.

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AP Sports Writer Fred Goodall contributed to this report.

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Steve Reed, The Associated Press