Coral Smith’s NFL+ moment of the game:
The Panthers had a chance to take the lead in the second quarter of a then-scoreless game, but a mistake by D.J. Chark and an impressive play by Antoine Winfield Jr. quickly turned the tide. Carolina snapped the ball at the Tampa Bay 43-yard line on third down, and Bryce Young scrambled out of the pocket and found Chark downfield for the first down. Chark grabbed the ball and kept running toward the pylon, leaping into the end zone just as he was hit by Winfield Jr., letting go of the ball as he fell. The call on the field was a touchdown, but after a review, the officials reversed it, saying that Chark, who had been holding the ball outstretched instead of tucking it under his arm, had not broken the plane of the goal line before Winfield knocked the ball out, meaning it was a fumble. Tampa Bay safety Jamel Dean had picked up the ball in the end zone, and therefore the Bucs took possession after the touchback. Spoiler alert: The Panthers failed to find the end zone for the rest of the game, while the Bucs clinched their fourth-straight playoff berth.
Re-watch the Buccaneers’ win on NFL+.
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