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The Hillsborough River is not too far away from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, and it appears a friendly creature decided to make the trip to the building on Sunday.
During the third quarter of Sunday’s Week 17 game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7) and Carolina Panthers (4-12), a duck mysteriously appeared on the field, caught on camera by the CBS Sports crew. But the camera quickly panned back to the action, as the Panthers were lining up for a punt. Johnny Hekker had his punt blocked, and linebacker J.J. Russell scooped the ball up and took it back for six.
Duck on the field nearly stole all the shine from the Bucs' punt block and TD return
— 5 GOATs (@5GOATs_) December 29, 2024
"Quack quack- AND HEKKER HAS IT BLOCKED!"
More: https://t.co/DfPfbasMLcpic.twitter.com/a0xNNeUf0u
“Quack, quack — and Hekker has it blocked!” Ian Eagle said on the broadcast.
It was that kind of day for Tampa Bay, who needed a win to stay alive in the NFC South race along with the Atlanta Falcons (8-7). The Buccaneers picked up a dominant 48-14 victory over the Panthers, their third time this season topping 40 points.
Buccaneers throttle Panthers behind prolific offensive performance
Quarterback Baker Mayfield led the way for an offense which totaled 551 yards. Mayfield completed 27-of-32 passes for 359 yards and five touchdowns for a near perfect passer rating of 153.0. Mayfield will head into Week 18 needing just one touchdown pass to hit 40 on the season.
Two of his touchdowns against Carolina went to Mike Evans. The 31-year-old wideout is looking to keep his 10-year streak of 1,000-yard seasons alive, and Sunday’s performance was on par with what he needed with still one game to go. Evans hauled in eight receptions for 97 yards, now just 85 yards away from 1,000 this season. Evans missed three games with a hamstring injury earlier in the year.
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Steelers' Once Promising Third-Year Defender Could Be Relegated On The Depth Chart
The Pittsburgh Steelers have begun the 2025 NFL season with a 2-1 record, however there are some things that need to be figured out. The defense is shaky at best despite forcing five turnovers in Sunday's win over the New England Patriots in Week 3. The group still struggles to get off of the field on possession downs, and stopping the run has been an issue throughout the first three weeks of the season. A lot of that starts with the front seven and the interior defensive line. Pittsburgh has been banged up in that area, but some healthy contributors returning could shake up the lineup. Pittsburgh was able to see the regular season debut of Derrick Harmon on Sunday. The organization selected Harmon in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but he suffered a sprained MCL in the preseason finale which kept him on the sidelines throughout the first two weeks of the regular season. He made an impact while serving in a limited role on Sunday against New England as he recorded a sack and two total tackles, and he is expected to help the run defense in the near future. Team insider Mark Kaboly spoke about the interior defensive line after the game on Sunday on the most recent episode of Kaboly + Mack, and he believes there will be two rookies starting in that area very soon. "They made some moves there, and it was able to help them out," Kaboly said. "That's a definite difference in what they were able to do. And I think it's just a matter of time until Yahya Black, Derrick Harmon and Cam Heyward's your one, two and three across the front. It's just a matter of time." Currently, Cam Heyward and Yahya Black are the starting defensive tackles for Pittsburgh while Keeanu Benton has been the starting nose tackle. That is the part of the lineup that will be shuffled, as Benton will likely switch to being a rotational piece, while Harmon enters the starting lineup. He will likely takeover the duties at defensive tackle, while Black shuffles to nose tackle. Benton was expected to take a leap forward going into his second season in 2024, but that didn't necessarily happen. He has made some big plays for Pittsburgh, but he has not been the consistent force that the organization had hoped he would be to this point. There was hope he would improve once again during the 2025 season, but if anything, the third-year pro has shown some regression since his rookie season. Moving to a rotational role where he can fill in at both defensive tackle and nose tackle might be best for Benton at this point. He doesn't necessarily have the size to be a true nose tackle in the NFL, so the coaching staff in Pittsburgh has seemingly been setting him up for failure a little bit in that regard. He would likely play better at defensive tackle, which is something the coaching staff could find out if the starting defensive line gets shuffled. Steelers Need To See Keeanu Benton Step Up No matter what role he is serving, Benton needs to play better moving forward. The interior defensive line is a key part of stopping the run, and Pittsburgh has struggled to do that. It is going to be hard to win meaningful games if that problem persists, especially against the better teams in the NFL that show up on the schedule later in the year. Benton needs to show some signs of progression, whether that be as a starter, or as someone who rotates in with the starting lineup throughout a game. Benton can still have a future in Pittsburgh, but he is going to need to improve in 2025 while setting himself up for success in 2026.
Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield drops harsh quote about former coach after win
Quarterback Baker Mayfield was forced to lead a game-winning drive against the New York Jets after a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown took away a chance for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to ice the game at 29-20 with less than two minutes to play. With 1:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, Mayfield engineered a seven-play, 48-yard drive that ended in a successful 36-yard field goal attempt by kicker Chase McLaughlin to give the Buccaneers a 3-0 start with a 29-27 win over the Jets in front of 62,872 fans at Raymond James Stadium. What Buccaneers' Baker Mayfield had to say about former coach Following the game, Mayfield said he felt vindicated by beating New York, especially defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, who cut the former first-round pick (after using him as a scout-team defensive lineman) when he was the interim head coach of the Carolina Panthers in 2022. “I loved it," Mayfield said of beating the Jets via Ari Meirov of the 33rd Team. "Their D-coordinator (Steve Wilks) was the one who cut me in Carolina. A lot of stuff was personal today. Haason Reddick. Former Jet. A lot of people.” The loss dropped Wilks and first-year head coach Aaron Glenn to 0-3. The Jets fought hard with backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor filling in for Justin Fields, who is still in the concussion protocol from Week 2. Mayfield didn't impress Wilks during his time in Carolina, but he showed the defensive coordinator why he's worthy to be a starter in the league. Mayfield went 19-of-29 passing for 233 yards and one touchdown on Sunday. He added 44 yards rushing on four carries against Wilks' defense.
Ben Johnson sneaks in extra motivation for Bears before Raiders clash
On Sunday, Ben Johnson secured his first win as the Chicago Bears head coach. Ultimately, the Bears played their best football thus far and came away on top by a score of 31-14. A massive relief after back-to-back losses that called into question whether the Bears were actually turning a new leaf. This weekend, Chicago will be traveling to take on the Las Vegas Raiders. A game in which Johnson humbly admits Chicago will enter as the underdog, per Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team. During his Monday press conference, Johnson made his case. Essentially, Johnson says his team will build off the success of their win and use the underdog status as a motivating factor. “We’re looking to piggyback on that performance here and go for our first road win here this week,” Johnson said. “We’re road underdogs already. I think Vegas is picked to beat us, so we got to come out and have a great week of preparation.” Johnson is in his first full season as Bears’ coach. After their 31 point loss to the Detroit Lions, Johnson received blamed from the fans. However, the win over the Cowboys breathed new life back into Chicago and Johnson. The Raiders are also 1-2 to start the season. Ben Johnson’s humility goes a long way for the Bears The fact that Johnson is not sugar coating anything is a sign that he is fully aware of what he is up against. He has the dauting task of trying to resurrect a franchise that has been stuck in a state of despair for years. It is clear that one solid victory where all cylinders click is not the be all end all. When it comes to the Raiders, the Bears have their work cut out for them against the Vegas defense. Their defense led by Maxx Crosby can take advantage of Caleb Williams, who is still in the growth process in his second NFL season. Nevertheless, Williams is fresh off a dominating performance against the Cowboys. He completed 19 out of 28 pass attempts for 298 passing yards along with tying his career high of four touchdowns. Meanwhile, he has a coach in Johnson who is up front about what lies ahead as well as taking one game at a time. That alone is a sign that things are turning around.
Eagles HC Nick Sirianni shoots down coaching conspiracy theory
After only scoring a touchdown in the first half and digging themselves into a 26-7 hole, the Philadelphia Eagles offense went into overdrive in the second half to overtake the Los Angeles Rams, 33-26, on Sunday. During his news conference on Monday, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was asked if offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo was removed from play-calling duty in the second half in favor of Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts calling plays for the vicious comeback. Hurts and Patullo had a heated moment on the sideline during the third quarter. Sirianni confirmed that the conspiracy theory was false and that Patullo called all of the plays in the second half. “Kevin called the plays yesterday in that second half,” Sirianni said, via Pro Football Talk. "Kevin called the plays. Kevin will continue to call the plays... I love the communication that we get from all our guys." Following a sack-fumble of Hurts on their opening drive of the second half, the star quarterback led the Eagles to three touchdowns on their final four possessions. Sirianni credited Hurts for communicating well with the staff so Patullo could call good plays. “But make no mistake about it, Jalen does a great job of communicating. Jalen sees the field really, really, well. He can come back and tell you what happened without even looking at the picture. Then you look at the picture like, ‘Yeah, this, that’s exactly what happened’. Jalen has a great feel for how that’s going. So, there’s communication, right?" This is Patullo's first season as an offensive coordinator in the league. He's served as the Eagles pass game coordinator since 2021. Through three games, Philadelphia is averaging 25.6 points per game, down from the 29 points per game it averaged in 2024.
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