The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Carolina Panthers 30-24 at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on Sunday to clinch the National Football Conference (NFC) South Division title and book their spot in the NFL playoffs.

The Buccaneers' quarterback (QB), 45-year-old Tom Brady, will appear in the postseason for the 14th straight time in the 23rd season of his career to chase his eighth Super Bowl title.

The Buccaneers led the NFC South with a 7-8 record before Sunday, but the New Orleans Saints (6-9) were close behind. They beat the Philadelphia Eagles 20-10 on Sunday to secure their seventh win. It wasn't the most desperate situation for the Buccaneers yet, but they didn't want to lose to the Panthers at home.

The situation made Brady's performance on Sunday even more valuable. Having completed 34 of his 45 passes, he threw for 432 yards and three touchdowns (TDs), all connecting with wide receiver Mike Evans. Despite his age and poor athleticism, Brady rushed to score the one-yard, game-winning TD at 1:58 in the fourth quarter for the Buccaneers.

"I feel like I'm the luckiest guy in the world," Brady said after the game, and he didn't forget to praise Evans. "I love playing out there with him, and he's an amazing player – I've missed him too many times this year, so it was nice to connect with him, and hopefully, we can keep that going. I think we will."

"Tom was just dropping dimes," Evans said after completing 10 catches for 207 receiving yards on Sunday. "Those were some really, really good balls. This was one of the best games I've seen Tom play since he's been here. They were like falling right ... in the breadbasket every time. He had an unbelievable game."

Todd Bowles, who took over from Bruce Arians as the Buccaneers' head coach in March, spoke highly of his team's efforts to go for the first 14-or-more-points comeback win this season. 

"They didn't get down, and they didn't get disgusted," Bowles said. "We've been through a lot this year, so we have a lot of resiliency and strength, so we don't get down when we get down score-wise. They buckled down, they stayed together as a team, and they came through."

Most of the postseason qualifications were confirmed after Sunday's games. In the NFC, the Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions, all with an 8-8 record, will compete for the final Wild Card berth. All the Packers need is a win over the Lions in Week 18 to enter the playoffs.

It's a bit more complicated in the American Football Conference (AFC). The Jacksonville Jaguars (8-8) will play the Tennessee Titans (7-9) in Week 18, and the winner will secure a postseason spot as the champions of the AFC South Division. The New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers, all with an 8-8 record, will fight for a Wild Card spot. However, if all three teams lose in Week 18, that berth will go to the Jaguars, even if they lose to the Titans in their final game.

Other games on Sunday (away teams come first):

Arizona Cardinals 19-20 Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears 10-41 Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars 31-3 Houston Texans

Denver Broncos 24-27 Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins 21-23 New England Patriots

Indianapolis Colts 10-38 New York Giants

Cleveland Browns 24-10 Washington Commanders

San Francisco 49ers 37-34 Las Vegas Raiders

New York Jets 6-23 Seattle Seahawks

Minnesota Vikings 17-41 Green Bay Packers

Los Angeles Rams 10-31 Los Angeles Chargers

Pittsburgh Steelers 16-13 Baltimore Ravens