How Valuable Was Week 18 Win To Todd Bowles, Baker Mayfield?
July 7th, 2026
Raise The Flags docuseries stars and Bucs co-owners Bryan and Joel Glazer.
On a breezy, rainy Tampa Saturday in January, the Bucs had their season on the line against a key rival.
And the Bucs won, dumping Carolina 16-14 after jumping out to a 16-7 lead.
Both teams finished the season at 8-9 and watched the Saints and Falcons play afterwards to decide the NFC South. If the Saints won, then the Bucs would land in the playoffs as division champs.
Instead, the Falcons won and the Panthers won the division on a three-way tiebreaker with the Bucs and Atlanta.
For former Raiders, Jags and Bills linebacker Kirk Morrison, that game told him something meaningful about Baker Mayfield and the Bucs.
Morrison co-hosts on SiriusXM NFL Radio and chatted with Todd Bowles after the season at the NFL Scouting Combine, Today, his show with Bruce Murray focused for nearly an hour on all things Bucs.
That season finale win stuck with Morrison.
“I mean, they beat the Carolina Panthers in the marquee game in Week 18. We all watched it and he found a way to win. And that to me holds a lot of weight,” Morrison said. “In terms of what I want from my quarterback when things — I know how it is when things are good with Baker — but I learned a lot more when things were bad and he still had the fight on a team that had a ton of injuries throughout.”
Yes, some teams do roll over and quit. The Bucs did not. And considering the Panthers went out a week later and nearly beat the Rams in the playoffs (Carolina led in the final minute), perhaps Week 18 acutally meant something.
Did it save Todd Bowles’ job? Did it cast Mayfield in a different light to the Bucs’ power brokers?
Joe can’t answer those questions.
Morrison went on to pick the Bucs to finish 9-8 this season. He is counting on another weak Tampa Bay finish: “Gotta bank some wins early on,” he said, noting the Bucs’ late schedule is “eerily similar” to what it encountered last year.
July 7th, 2026 at 9:22 pm
Looking back Yes, it was a late season collapse of epic proportions and yet the everybody gets fired except the head coach? Well, it is what it is. If this OC is the Real Deal-and I think he is-and the O-line stays healthy the Offense should be just fine. And the Putrid Pass Defense might just be a lot better with all the new faces and guys that are obvious big additions. Bain should be a Pain! Go Bucs!!
July 7th, 2026 at 9:45 pm
Anybody who picks the Bucs to finish 9-8 this season is either unaware or forgetting all the players we were missing last season to end up with that same record. Essentially they are saying adding Calijah Kancey and Cody Mauch and Ben Bredeson and Jalen McMillan and Chris Godwin for a full year and Bucky and all the new draftees and free agents will give us exactly the same record.
Nonsense!
If this team is healthy it’s completely different and way more talented than last season. We have Bain now instead of useless Reddick. We have more and better front 7 players. Our defense will apply lots of pressure and our excellent Offensive Line will protect Baker and open lots of holes in the run game! The offense should hum and the defense is built to attack. I for one foresee a much better season ahead! Let’s stay healthy and get it done!
July 7th, 2026 at 9:46 pm
The Carolina win was nothing spectacular. The Bucs figured out a way to defeat a bad team at home which they choked agianst on the road a couple of weeks earlier. It was like the AZ game, the Bucs won but were not impressive. They looked like a mediocre or bad team simply beating another mediocre or bad team. Problem is they could not do the same versus Carolina or Miami on the road and even worse, lost to a bad New Orleans teaam at home and add in the infamous 3rd and 28 loss which might have been the last straw for Evans. Question is? Were the right people held accountable for the 2-7 finish? Team Glazers seems to think so but a lot of fans and pundits disagree as Bowles is still HC and some also have doubts about the QB as he also contriibuted to the demise, albeit he was all busted up and should not have been on the field for a few games…….
July 7th, 2026 at 9:49 pm
I hope you are right Stpetematt. If the Bucs get all the players you mentioned back and the offensive stars you mentioned return to performing at their 2024 level and Kancey simply avoiding another round of game missing injuries, then I agree. The problem is “if”, nothing is ever certain but yeah the offense can reboound for sure but Todd’s D? That will be more of a challenge but the new players will not hurt. Go Bucs!
July 7th, 2026 at 9:54 pm
Bucs are improved in all areas except DBs. Zyon and Morrison will cost the Bucs games. Also no depth at db.
July 7th, 2026 at 9:58 pm
Todd’s D cannot function properly without a pass rush especially that is successful rushing 4. That way, blitzes are a surprise instead of expected. We now have lots of options to find 4 successful rushers. Of course, that makes everything easier for the secondary too and generates a lot more turnovers.
Stay healthy, Bucs! You will have a great season if you do.
July 7th, 2026 at 10:13 pm
Will the Bucs be a mediocre team that limps into the playoffs in a weak division or should they posture for a higher pick for a franchise QB? Either way, the fans win.
July 7th, 2026 at 11:05 pm
Game 18 was Bowles SB in 2025. That’s as close as he’s ever going to be.
Not sure anyone in history has coached a team to an 8-9 record, 2-7 after the bye, no playoffs, but is still lauded as a success.
Only in Tampa. 31 other teams would have fired Bowles for that nose dive.
He’s only successful against the drecks of the league.
Failing upwards is his superpower. The Sultan of Suck!
July 8th, 2026 at 12:51 am
On paper we “should” be better than last year. Just on talent alone. We got better coaches. If we are healthy we can be a top team. Go Bucs
July 8th, 2026 at 1:11 am
This is such a load of rubbish, given the many great JBF articles properly calling out The Big Quit during 2-7, 3rd and 28, Mike Evans and the other vets fleeing the crime scene,
That game was awful. Flat, poorly played, poorly executed and somehow lucking into a win over a scrub who was the least stinky scrub in the dumpster?
Polly wanna Pom Pom?
July 8th, 2026 at 5:30 am
Like Matt said, Todd’s defense needs some horses, which we seem to have finally acquired. I expect we’ll have like #15 defense this year, which is good enough
July 8th, 2026 at 6:15 am
I guess we should call Todd Bowles Mr. Whipple. Many coaches yell taunts at the other team. Todd was yelling “please don’t squeeze the Charmin.”. Well, the younger fans might not get it. It was an old commercial from the late 60s to the early 70s.
That said, week 18 in Tampa the weather was kinda nice in the first half. We took the ball first because the weather was supposed to turn in the 2nd half. Joe called it rainy. It looked more like a monsoon to me. The Panthers still managed a TD. We didn’t. Most of the time it was hard to see the field. Mother nature should have gotten a game ball.
July 8th, 2026 at 6:30 am
It would of been better if we had lost that game. We would of got the third or last place schedule. We would of gotten better draft position. We would of still picked Bain but I think we would of grabbed Rodrigus instead of Trotter.
July 8th, 2026 at 7:42 am
that win was worthless considering we lost to the dolphins
GO BUCS!!!!
July 8th, 2026 at 7:50 am
Fred McNeil. We finished off the opening drive, in driving rain, with a beautiful touchdown pass to Otten. Where did you come up with they scored a touchdown and we didn’t? Our defense, at least against the run, was beautiful. We weren’t great, but the team fought.
July 8th, 2026 at 8:03 am
You win an NFL game 16-14, that’s a win for the defense and a “wtf were you doing for 60 minutes?” for the offense, because 10 points on your first 2 possessions and a total of 6 points off your last 7 possessions ain’t it.
Especially considering Carolinas first points were posted immediately after a giveaway that gave them field position starting at our 19 yard line or 1 yard into the redzone for Carolina.
July 8th, 2026 at 9:58 am
WBL. If you’ve played enough football you would know that weather has huge impact in points scored in a football game. Statistically, it’s almost 2:1. both offensively and defensively. It’s closer to 1.5 to 1, but the weather dampens offensive output and it inflates defensive output. Always has, always will.
July 8th, 2026 at 10:35 am
“If you’ve played enough football you would know that weather has huge impact in points scored in a football game. Statistically, it’s almost 2:1. both offensively and defensively. It’s closer to 1.5 to 1, but the weather dampens offensive output and it inflates defensive output. Always has, always will.”
Kenton, plz stfu and stop trying to passively offer up stupid excuses for an offense that struggled in spite of the variance in weather the last *checks notes* 11 games of the season. I say 11 because our last 2 games before the bye were in closed domes, and the Saints game we scored 16 points offensively same as the season finale.
So explain the dampening of our offense in Detroit where we scored 9, in New Orleans where we scored 16 and in LA when we scored 7. How’d the weather effect us then?
July 8th, 2026 at 11:07 am
WBL. I was just pointing out a little football fact of life. And you stfu.
July 8th, 2026 at 11:30 am
Does a marquee matchup count as a “prime time” game?
July 8th, 2026 at 11:59 am
New year, new team. We’ll see how it goes, 20 days till camp.
July 8th, 2026 at 1:05 pm
Pollies want their Pom Poms.
July 8th, 2026 at 2:32 pm
Oh my how the trolls get annoyed at the 1st sign of hope anyone expresses. 😭
July 8th, 2026 at 3:17 pm
Bowles has no edge which is why the prediction is accurate in my eyes. What separates the good from the bad is coaching and execution. Bowles is mediocre at coaching, coaching drives execution and execution is dependent on talent and discipline. The talent is there, the team discipline has not been there and this is on Bowles. Honestly, I wish the guy would just retire now and give the job to the new OC. Can’t really be any worse than what we have going on now.
July 8th, 2026 at 7:25 pm
This guy is clueless. The bucs last five games were a cakewalk. Falcons, saints, panthers twice and dolphins. I guess sports media really sets the bar low.
July 8th, 2026 at 7:36 pm
George R- I agree we would have been better of losing for the exact reasons you stated. And if this win really did save Bowles the a loss would have been sorely needed. I have my doubts, though. The glazers made up their mind to retain Bowles no matter what.
July 8th, 2026 at 10:56 pm
WBL has a come back that says stfu.
I bet you won a lot on your debate team.
July 8th, 2026 at 11:52 pm
Offense struggled late in the season because we were starting two fourth string guards. And they were turnstiles and awful.