TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 19-16 overtime victory on Christmas night against the Arizona Cardinals (4-11) snapped a two-game losing streak.
If the Bucs (7-8) beat the Carolina Panthers (6-9) in Tampa on Sunday, they will win a second straight NFC South division title and host a first-round playoff game.
“It’s going to take all effort; we’re going to have to play complementary football,” linebacker Devin White said. “We just got to stick it out. We know what’s on the line. We can step up to the challenge.”
“This team has a lot of resiliency,” quarterback Tom Brady said. “We fight hard. We’re 7-8. It’s not where we want to be, but we got a chance at a championship game next week.”
Brady and the Bucs were trailing by 10 points in the fourth quarter against the Cardinals. That’s when the team leaned on running back Leonard Fournette, who totaled 162 yards and caught nine passes.
“We came into halftime, and everyone was kind of frustrated,” Fournette said. “Say what we had to say and get it off our chest. I told (offensive coordinator) Byron (Leftwich), the offense, listen, we’ve been here before, in worse situations. Let’s go out here and make plays. Leftwich, give me the ball; let’s get it going.”
With the game tied at 16 in overtime, Brady completed all six of his passes to set up Ryan Succop for the game-winning 40-yard field goal.
“If we keep it close in the fourth quarter, we know we have a shot,” Brady said. “Just too many plays not to get ahead. We played better in the fourth quarter. We executed well. Broke some tackles, ran hard, a lot of guys made plays in the passing game.”
“It’s very important for playoff chances,” White added. “We know where we want to be. We know we had to win this one.”
The Bucs host the Panthers Sunday at 1 p.m. at Raymond James Stadium.
