How a milkshake, missed field goal and chicken tenders played a part in the Bucs' playoff hopes

TAMPA, Fla. -- It was Dec. 29, hours after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had defeated the Carolina Panthers, 48-14, and every pair of eyes in quarterback Baker Mayfield's living room were fixated on the TV with players nervously gnawing chicken tenders and onion rings.

The main attraction? The Washington Commanders hosting the Atlanta Falcons on "Sunday Night Football."

The Bucs needed the Commanders to win the Week 17 game to move ahead of the Falcons in the NFC South race and control their own playoff fate heading into the Week 18 season finale.

"Big Jayden Daniels fan tonight," Mayfield said in his CBS postgame interview earlier that day.

A loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16 snapped the Bucs' four-game winning streak and put them in a tie with the Falcons, and Atlanta held the head-to-head tiebreaker after sweeping Tampa earlier in the season.

A little help from the Commanders is all the Bucs were hoping for as they watched along with the rest of the world.

"Lot of ups and downs, watching from a fan's perspective," Mayfield said. "Not always the easiest one on your heart rate."

With two seconds left in regulation and the game now tied at 24-24, Falcons kicker Riley Patterson trotted out to attempt a 56-yard field goal.

The kick was up, and rookie running back Bucky Irving raced out of the house in frustration.

"I thought it went in," Irving said said.

"Watching it, it looked like the kick was in," All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs added.

Wirfs hung his head down, and all of a sudden "I felt two big bear paws SMACK me," he said.

It was swing tackle Justin Skule -- "He missed!" Skule shouted.

"It looked like it was on line," left guard Ben Bredeson added. "I couldn't see that it had fallen short."

Mayfield had to go get Irving and bring him back inside.

"I sat down and watched the game some more," Irving said, before punching in a DoorDash order. "I got a milkshake after that. ... Oreo."

It would end up being a celebratory milkshake at that, as the Commanders went on to win in overtime, 30-24, and the Bucs' social media accounts reacted by posting a photo of Mayfield hugging Daniels from their Week 1 game with a handshake emoji.

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With a game in hand in the standings, the Bucs went into their Week 18 finale with the New Orleans Saints knowing a victory would clinch the division. A Falcons' loss or tie to the Panthers would also seal it for them, but why leave things to chance? Especially after everything it took to get here.

After a Week 10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Bucs fell to 4-6 with a 23.7% chance to make the playoffs, according to ESPN Research. Eight weeks later, after a little help from the Commanders, they had clawed back to the top of the division but were trailing 16-6 at halftime against the Saints. Jalen McMillan's 32-yard, toe-dragging touchdown catch in the fourth quarter gave them the first lead of the game, and the Bucs became the first team since the 2013 Chargers to overcome a double-digit deficit in the season finale to clinch a playoff spot with a 27-19 victory.

"It feels good, but our goal wasn't just getting into the playoffs. We want to go all the way," Mayfield said. "This is a tough, resilient group that's been tested throughout the year, and so we're built for the playoffs."

After winning six of their final seven games, the No. 3-seeded Bucs (10-7) are set to host the No. 6 Commanders (12-5) on Sunday (8 p.m. ET, NBC) in the wild-card round of the playoffs.

"The guys truly care about one another, play for each other," coach Todd Bowles said, "and I think when we get in those tough situations, we're able to lean on each other and rely on some of that personal relationship to maybe push you through."

THE BUCS' SEASON saw them pull off upsets over the now-No. 1 seeded Detroit Lions in Week 2 and the No. 2 seeded Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4. They also thrashed the Chargers (the AFC's No. 5 seed), 40-17, in Week 15.

But then there were devastating lows, like losing Chris Godwin, the NFL's leader in catches and touchdowns through the first seven weeks, for the season and Mike Evans, the franchise's all-time leading receiver, in a single night against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7.

"It just absolutely sucks," a shaken Mayfield said at the time. "I've got a heavy heart right now. ... I don't know what we're gonna do."

Looking back Wednesday, Mayfield said, "In the midst of that moment ... losing those two guys sucks, losing the game, [it's] not great. But take some time after that, [you] realize that you got to instill confidence in the other guys, get them ready to roll and go from there."

Evans would return in Week 12, but not before the team lost four in a row to the Ravens, Falcons, Kansas City Chiefs and 49ers -- the final three decided by one score or less and after having the lead or tying the game within the final two minutes of regulation.

Evans was one of 18 starters who missed a combined 62 games.

"We knew that we were gonna face adversity at some point in time in the season," said wide receiver Sterling Shepard, who said Bowles talked about preparing for it all through camp. "We just talked about, 'How's our mental gonna be whenever that stuff does hit? Because you know it's gonna hit.' ... You've gotta dig yourself out of some holes throughout the season."

They needed a colossal effort (and some luck) to secure a fourth consecutive division title, a fifth straight postseason berth and help elevate Evans to his 11th consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season, tying Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for the most in NFL history.

.@MikeEvans13_ was mic'd up for his record-breaking catch and it's incredible 🔊 pic.twitter.com/AfvoV0Vp73

"Missing time, it was a grind to get back -- it really was," said Evans, who finished the season with 11 touchdowns. "This is probably like my second-worst hamstring injury I've had in my life."

Evans thought back to the rehab sessions he had with Bucs vice president of sports medicine and performance Bobby Slater and the goals he set.

"[Slater] was telling me, every time I was outside running in that heat and running all of [those] sprints, he kept saying, 'We are going to get 1,000 yards, and we are going to the playoffs,'" Evans said.

Evans' milestone came on the final play of the regular season. After Irving's 11-yard touchdown run that gave them the eight-point cushion, the defense made a stop. Still, Evans was five yards short of the 85 he needed coming in to tie Rice. Bowles made the decision not to take a knee when the team got the ball back with 36 seconds left at the Tampa Bay 32-yard line.

"I didn't want an interception," Bowles said, calling Evans' 9-yard grab one of the "greatest plays and greatest moments" of his coaching career.

"To get a record like that for 11 years to tie Jerry Rice, who I believe is the greatest of all time, is something you can't try and pass up," Bowles said. "And I think everybody was so excited to see it happen and probably all the emotion I've seen out of Mike more than I've been here. So that was great to see. It was great to see the guys erupting on the sideline playing for each other, and it was just a cool moment.

"It probably was the best game ball [I've given out]."

Cornerback Zyon McCollum, who helped get the third-down stop leading up to that, and who idolized Evans, attending the same high school in Galveston, Texas, said, "It's something I'll never forget in my life."

Teammates doused Evans with water in the locker room. He then broke the huddle with, "I love you all, man. We ain't done. We ain't f---ing done."

With the division and playoffs secured, the Bucs had reason to celebrate.

"I've said it for a couple weeks now, 'Just keep swinging. We'll look up at the end and see where we're at,'" Wirfs added. "There were some ups and downs ... but when we looked up, it was 0:00, and we were champs, man."

THE PLAY OF Mayfield, who signed a three-year deal this offseason worth $100 million, helped keep it all together, with his four-touchdown performance in Week 1 against the Commanders serving as a catalyst. In that 30-27 victory, he completed 80% of his passes.

Mayfield continued anchoring the team with his scrappy style throughout the year. There was Mayfield's stiff-arm against 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa while completing a fourth-down pass to a leaping Rachaad White, Mayfield racing downfield to block for Irving in Week 12 at the New York Giants and a 28-yard scramble on third-and-14 in Week 18 to keep their playoff hopes alive.

"When he's doing the little things like diving for fumbles and trying to block down the field ... everybody else looks at him like, 'Why can't we do our part?'" Bowles said. "I love having him around here, love everything he's doing, love the way he handles the team. Everybody has bought in."

Then there was the highlight reel touchdown to McMillan against the Saints on first-and-18, thrown off-platform, helping McMillan atone for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty two snaps prior.

"The throw was unbelievable, and he was on the run when he did it," Bowles said. "To make that throw on a line drive in the air that far down the field and for Jalen to make that catch -- the throw was everything.

"The year he's had has been unbelievable."

Mayfield's 4,500 passing yards this season ranked third behind Joe Burrow and Jared Goff, while his 41 passing touchdowns were tied for second with Lamar Jackson (and surpassed his career best of 28 from the previous year). His 71.4% completion percentage was also second among passers with 500 or more attempts, and his air yards per attempt (7.9) and rushing yardage (378) were also personal bests.

The play of Mayfield has helped them in the clutch, as "finishing" has been a mantra the Bucs' coaching staff has preached. Their 19 total touchdowns in the fourth quarter were the most in the NFL this season.

"Our identity is just fighting," said McMillan, who scored seven touchdowns in the final five games -- tied for the most of any player in the league. "We just fight and continue to fight, and, I mean, regardless of the outcome we're going to continue throwing punches."

Same thing with the defense -- their 22.6 points given up per game is 16th in the league, while their 5,810 total yards given up on defense (399.6 per game) is 18th, but, the Bucs' 70 points allowed in the fourth quarter (4.1 points per game) marks the second fewest.

As for Washington, the irony of it all wasn't lost on Mayfield with them now set to face the same Commanders team they were just rooting for in a rematch from Week 1 -- in which the Bucs won 37-20.

The Bucs may not be fans of Daniels this week, but Mayfield had a hunch when he was hosting the watch party that they'd face Commanders in Round 1.

"You look at just wanting to get a chance in the playoffs and obviously it was gonna be one of the top teams and they are," Mayfield said. "They finished out with a great record, just had to get in on a wild card. But you look at it -- you're excited to play in the playoffs no matter who it is."