It seems like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a dialed-in effort against the Panthers, especially Baker Mayfield. And that same mindset should carry to Week 18 as head coach Todd Bowles refused to take the Saints lightly.

Baker Mayfield threw for 359 yards and five touchdowns without an interception as the Buccaneers routed the Panthers 48-14 in Week 17. That set the stage for a potential division-clinching win against the lowly Saints. The Buccaneers are the only NFC team to make the playoffs in each of the past four seasons and will try to stretch the streak to five years. They can do it with a win or a tie.

The Saints appear to be no problem. The Buccaneers beat them right and left in the first matchup, a convincing 51-27 decision.

Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles not letting off the gas

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles looks on before a game against the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium.
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

When Atlanta suffered an overtime loss to the Commanders on Sunday night, Tampa Bay regained control of its playoff destiny. All they have to do is brush aside the Saints. However, Bowles said it won’t be easy, according to tampabay.com.

“They have a lot of prideful guys over there,” he said. “It was a tough game at halftime the first time we played them. (We) kind of got away from them in the second half. (And) we made some plays; we don’t expect it to be any different. We have to keep doing the little things right. (Also,) we have to play every play and we have to try to make some plays to win this ball game.”

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Mike Evans said Buccaneers haven't lost their stride

Receiver Mike Evans said the Buccaneers have kept their stern outlook, even after the loss to the Cowboys put them in a tricky spot.

“Everybody’s professional and we’ve got guys with a lot of experience that’s been here before and we keep playing,” Evans said. “Keep playing hard for one another and for this franchise.

“We were the most physical team (against the Panthers). I told the guys before the game, ‘The most physical team will win this.’ We knew we were more talented than them, we just had to play harder and be more physical and we did that. When you lose games, it shifts your focus back to what it should be and that’s being very detailed and very physical. We came out here (Sunday) very angry and that’s what it going to take.”

Bowles said the one-game-at-a-time theory works well this week.

“We have one more to win,” Bowles said. “They’ve taken it game by game. They’ve taken the little things every day and tried to get better. We really didn’t look outside of what we couldn’t control, and we can’t do that this week as well. I thought the guys handled it well.”