Buccaneers

Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles spoke about the debut that OC Josh Grizzard has had with the team’s offense this season.   “You’ve got to constantly adjust as a coordinator,” Bowles said, via Rick Stroud. “As a first-time coordinator, when you’ve got injuries plus it’s your first time, it makes it a little bit more difficult, but Josh has hung in there, and he’s come up with some plans for us to make it work, and we just have to execute better.”   “We want to be able to run the ball every week to establish it and then, in the game, adjust as needed depending on if the runs are hitting or if the passes are hitting,” Grizzard said of the team running the ball. “Versus that particular opponent, when teams were able to earn the right to run the ball 30 times — which we talk about, when you run it that much, you’ve earned the right to do that through efficient runs, getting a hat on a hat, it really takes all 11 (players)…So we went in with the goal to do that because of their record, when you’re able to get that done. We essentially played that game how we wanted to play that game, and we just didn’t make enough plays in certain moments to ultimately come out with the win.”

• Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving was fined $6,349 for a violent gesture, and QB Baker Mayfield was fined $14,491 for a violent gesture.
• Buccaneers WR Mike Evans surpassed 13,000 career receiving yards on Sunday.

Panthers

Panthers HC Dave Canales also commented on his team’s running game, with an offensive line that has impressed despite injuries and a two-headed rushing attack with Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard. 

“Good things happen when you run the ball; you run the ball when good things happen,” Canales said, via the team website. “It works both ways, and it’s a part of who we are. Just take what they give you, and I know I want to run the ball in some way, shape, or form on a weekly basis, and when we get good matchups, and we feel like we can take advantage of things in the pass game, our guys have continued to grow in that world so that we can do that, and points are points. Wanting to get the ball into Rico and Chuba’s hands is a priority of mine. Sometimes that happens in the pass game with screens, getting the ball on the perimeter. It could be a checkdown in a pass concept that we feel good about flooding the zone, different things like that. The easiest way is to turn around and hand it to them, certainly, I love, love having that be a part of our game…I know I want to have that physical nature; let the linemen get their hands on people and feel those combos and just play a little football. And that’s always a part of the early part of our plans is to make sure that those guys get touches.”

Panthers

Panthers OT Taylor Moton noted that the offensive line is playing well together as a unit, and he loves helping spearhead the rushing attack and help to rack up rushing yards.

“It was very fun,” Moton said of the team’s Week 16 game, via the team website. “We’re running the rock like that and yeah, we’re stacking up rushing yards. But ultimately, you know, whenever we can get into victory formation at the end of the game, it doesn’t get more fun than that. It was fun, just like feeling like we were so in sync. We’re a brotherhood out there, like it didn’t matter. Just keep smashing it, keep running that rock and just keep taking it one play at a time for real.”

“Coming back inside after a win, it’s a great euphoric feeling,” Moton continued. “Like all the work you put in for the week, it paid off. I mean, you put yourself through all of that for the game, and it paid off for the win. And being able to see all the smiles on the faces of everyone who worked so hard, who deserve all the accolades and all that’s coming their way after a game like that. So, after seeing Chuba then, after seeing Rico rush for 100-plus this year, I’m happy for them because I see how much they work, how hard they work week in and week out, and you’re happy you can be a part of it and see that success.”

“I learned how bad it hurts to be so close and not achieve your goals,” Moton concluded. “I learned the pain, you know, and I learned how I don’t want to feel like that again towards the end of the season, right? But ultimately I learned how good we can be, so every game I go out there, win, lose, or draw, I learn a lesson of some sort, and you just keep stacking them.”

• Panthers LB Thomas Incoom was fined $5,722 for a late hit, S Lathan Ransom was fined $5,996 for use of the helmet, OT Ikem Ekwonu was fined $11,593 for a late hit, and CB Michael Jackson was fined $20,611 for use of the helmet.