Buccaneers Week 18 Top Performers vs. New Orleans Saints

Five straight playoff appearances should not be taken for granted.

Too often, the Buccaneers make everything look way too hard.

This season and last, they endured heartbreaking close losses, baffling blowouts, and the need to climb out of unreasonably large holes to reach their goals. A lot of it was, and still is, frustrating, and you need to wonder if those issues can ever be resolved under current leadership.

But what rises above all in those moments is a team’s character, and this franchise has proven to have built a culture of winning and an expectation of success.

Sunday’s victory encapsulated all of this to a tee, as the Bucs fell completely flat in the first half. The New Orleans Saints dominated all facets and raced out to a double-digit lead before Tampa flared to life, seizing a 27-19 comeback victory and its fourth straight NFC South crown and fifth straight playoff berth.

Mike Evans prolonged his prestigious 1,000-yard streak, Baker Mayfield played his best hero ball, and the defense finally clenched up when it mattered most. The Buccaneers are 10-win division champions and will host another playoff game, penning another chapter in what can be argued is the greatest stretch of sustained success in franchise history.

The playoffs are another animal, as several of the players know, but for now the Bucs will celebrate and await their opponent to be finalized. Let’s do some shout-outs.

Offensive Top Performers: QB Baker Mayfield and WR Mike Evans

Yes I’m cheating again this week, but I don’t think there will be much objection.

Simply put, the game is lost without Mayfield giving it his all.

In a rare clunker from offensive coordinator Liam Coen, the offense looked disjointed and unable to establish rhythm. A lot of Tampa’s success came from the sheer force of will emanating from its signal-caller.

Mayfield rushed for a season-high 68 yards, several of which came in need-to-have-it moments. He threw for two clutch touchdowns and even created an impromptu speed option pitch to Bucky Irving on the game’s clinching score within the 2-minute warning. Mayfield finishes with 41 touchdown passes on the year, joining Tom Brady as the only two players in Bucs history to do that.

Not a bad day for No. 6.

We could also go on and on about Evans and everything he means to the franchise, city, and fans of Tampa. Records aside, Evans straight-up helped win the contest with a game-high 9 catches for 89 yards, the final of which came on the final play to give him 1,000 yards for the 11th straight year — a feat matched only by the legendary Jerry Rice.

Despite missing multiple games with injury, still playing through said injuries, and being the team’s only established target since Chris Godwin went down (mostly), for Evans to still do it remains as impressive as ever. He gets the chance to heighten his prolific legacy with some more postseason statistics now.

Now about that “mostly.” Jalen McMillan continues to ball.

The rookie receiver has completely turned around his first year. From injuries and barely grasping the offense to scoring 7 touchdowns in a 5-game stretch (only Ja’Marr Chase has matched this streak in 2024), McMillan has become the reliable No. 2 the Bucs needed.

Defensive Top Performer: EDGE Yaya Diaby

Well, the defense struggled again but also clutched up…so net positive I suppose.

The highlight among all proved to be Diaby, who recorded a sack, 4 QB hits, and 5 total tackles — a whopping 4 for loss, the most in a game for the Bucs since Devin White four years ago. The sack numbers haven’t been there this year for Diaby (3.5), but he’s been among the league leaders in pressure rate and is solid in the run game. He’s the bedrock type of player who will contribute positively for a long time even if he never becomes a bonafide star.

Vita Vea also deserves his flowers. He reset his career-high in sacks with 7, falling just shy of the team leader behind Calijah Kancey’s 7.5. Entering a season where some speculated about his peak possibly falling off, Vea produced one of his best seasons in what has been a long, very good career.

Special Teams Top Performer: K Chase McLaughlin

Every point mattered, and McLaughlin fulfilled his duty like he always does. Including a 52-yard bomb, McLaughlin finished 2-of-2 on field goals and 3-of-3 on extra points.

He finished the regular season a fantastic 30-of-32, 8 of which came longer than 50 yards. Oh and one of the field goal misses was just a block that wasn’t on him.

That’s a weapon right there.