The Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered Sunday needing the New Orleans Saints to beat the Atlanta Falcons to win the NFC South and make the playoffs.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers sure picked a helluva time to lose control of their playoff destiny.They waited all the way until Week 18 to lose their grip on the NFC South, thanks to an awful loss to the Miami Dolphins and an upset win from the Atlanta Falcons in Week 17.

Meanwhile, the controversy from the Panthers-Bucs game regarding the blown handling of a backward pass was not addressed. The play entailed an error by the officials on the field, and a failure by the officials, the replay assistant, and the league office to properly administer the aftermath.

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers held off the Carolina Panthers 16-14 to snap a four-game losing streak, setting up a thrilling Sunday, when the NFC South winner will be decided by what happens between the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons.

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The Panthers dialed up a flea flicker that hurt their chances of winning on Saturday. HC Dave Canales explained his damaging call after the loss.

The Carolina Panthers’ offense had just trudged off the field. The field goal team had jogged on. The offense’s opening drive of the second half was a promising one. Quarterback Bryce Young had strung together two first downs, finding life despite the team’s run game simply not working.

With the Bucs sitting at home watching helplessly, they were eliminated from the NFL playoffs when the Falcons beat the Saints 19-17, handing the NFC South division title to the Carolina Panthers in a three-way tiebreaker with Tampa Bay and Atlanta. All three teams were 8-9.