From a 4-7 record to division champs and even a playoff win, the Bucs saw the wheels come off in the fourth quarter Sunday, going from a tie game to a 31-23 loss to the Lions at Ford Field.
Tampa Bay, whose defense pitched a shutout two weeks ago to get to the playoffs and held the Eagles to nine points last week, couldn’t pull off the same against a talented Lions offense. Jared Goff threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns, and rookie Jahmyr Gibbs went 31 yards for the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter.
Detroit is headed to the NFC Championship Game next Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) for the first time since 1992 and just the second time in the Super Bowl era. The Bucs fought to the end — down 14 in the fourth quarter, Baker Mayfield threw his third touchdown of the game, to Mike Evans with 4:37 left to get back within a score. Mayfield, finishing an impressive comeback season in his first year in Tampa, threw for 349 yards and three scores. In the past two weeks, he has the only 300-yard, three-touchdown passing games in Bucs’ playoff history.
Tampa got the ball back with 1:59 left, needing to go 90 yards for a potential tying touchdown, but Mayfield was picked off by Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes to seal the win.
“It sucks. I feel like my heart just got ripped out,” Mayfield said postgame.
The final result was disappointing, but the Bucs’ turnaround from a 4-7 record to finishing 10-9 was a remarkable finish for a team that some pundits expected to be among the worst in the league. It means Todd Bowles will be back as head coach for a third season, and all expectations are that Mayfield will get a long-term extension to stay as their quarterback.
Mayfield isn’t the only free agent the Bucs will have to make a big decision on. Evans, who has played in Tampa for his entire 10-year career, would be one of the league’s most coveted players at any position if he hits the open market. If that was his last game with Tampa, he went out blazing, setting a franchise playoff record with 147 receiving yards.
Mayfield said he would love to return to Tampa on a new contract, and he hopes that Evans can be re-signed as well.
“He’s a stud. That guy hasn’t regressed at all,” Mayfield said of the 30-year-old Evans. “As much as everybody wants to talk about his age, I think he had one of his best years. He makes my life easy. He did all year. He did it today, over and over. To get everybody back, there have to be sacrifices made. This team’s about winning. We have a group of guys who are all about that. If I’m back, I want Mike back.”
The Bucs also want to keep safety Antoine Winfielda first-team All-Pro selection and a core leader in four playoff appearances in his four seasons. Linebackers Lavonte David and Devin White are both free agents as well.
Greg Auman is FOX Sports’ NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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