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Football

Tampa Bay Buccaneers clinch NFC South division to reach playoffs

Philip Marsh
Tampa Bay Buccaneers clinch NFC South division to reach playoffsgetty
The Bucs got the job done in Week 18.

It was not pretty, and far from a good watch, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Carolina Panthers 9-0 in Week 18 to secure a place in the playoffs.

The Bucs failed to score a touchdown against the team with the worst winning record in the NFL, but their defense forced a shutout to clinch the NFC South division title.

It was needed too, as the New Orleans Saints put the hammer down against the Atlanta Falcons to win 48-17 at the Caesars Superdome.

Three Chase McLaughlin field goals were enough to seal the win over the Panthers, with quarterback Baker Mayfield visibly shaken up for most of the game.

Mayfield was active for the game despite dealing with a rib injury, and after an early sack was seen limping on the sidelines.

Speaking after the win, Mayfield told Fox: "We knew how mentally tough we had to be. Today wasn't pretty on offense, but our defence played lights out.

"It's been give and go but all we wanted was a chance at the playoffs and now we have that chance, we're looking forward to it.

"This is the most fun I've had playing football for a long time."

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