ClutchPoints
Cade Otton snapped a personal 20-game streak Saturday with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. All thanks to a Baker Mayfield dagger against the Carolina Panthers. Especially with Mayfield back from injury.
Mayfield fired this strike through the rain to his tight end for the game’s opening touchdown during the first quarter. But it’s Otton’s first touchdown this season.
Baker to Otton for SIX
The @Buccaneers go right down the field for the first points of the game.
CARvsTB on ESPN/ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/dCzeDokPAH— NFL (@NFL) January 3, 2026
Otton entered the game with 52 catches but hadn’t scored since Nov. 4, 2024 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Otton entered a rain soaked Raymond James Stadium with a lot on the line.
His Buccaneers led 10-0 early in a crucial NFC South contest, with the winner representing the division in the NFL Playoffs.
But for Otton, Mayfield and the Bucs, another streak is at stake here.
A loss ends Tampa Bay’s string of four consecutive NFC South titles. The Bucs captured one Super Bowl during this run — in 2020 when Tom Brady was behind center.
Mayfield since kept the Bucs’ division vice grip in the division going. He’s won the last two south titles while also winning one playoff game, during his first season with the team in 2023.
Otton, meanwhile, has played a pivotal part in this current divisional run. He’s yet to experience missing the playoffs in his NFL career. The former Washington Huskies TE already has surpassed 200 catches for his career. Otton even passed a feat Rob Gronkowski once held on Jan. 13, 2025.
But a Panthers win ends Tampa Bay’s season and forces the Bucs to watch the playoffs for the first time since the 2019 campaign. Carolina managed to cut the lead to 10-7 with under 11 minutes to go in the second quarter.
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