CHARLOTTE — The NFC South will all come down to Saturday as the Carolina Panthers (8-8) head to Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-9). Both teams lost on Sunday, meaning the division race will come down to the Week 18 matchup on Saturday afternoon.

This will be the second time in three weeks the two teams have faced off. The Panthers won the Week 16 matchup 23-20 to take the lead in the division. The Panthers are 26-24 all-time against the Buccaneers. Carolina is 14-12 at home and 12-12 on the road. Carolina is 1-2 in overtime against Tampa Bay. Last season's Week 18 game in Tampa was a 48-14 loss for Carolina.

The Bucs are coming off a 20-17 loss to the Dolphins in Week 17. While the Panthers just saw this squad, as guys reminded reporters over and over in the locker room on Sunday, each week is a new entity, with new things to learn. With that in mind, get to know the Bucs (again) ahead of Week 18.

The Baker Complex

Quarterback Baker Mayfield can be a riveting player to watch, keeping plays alive, making magic happen, and willing his way through defenders when need be. His stat sheet from Sunday's performance against the Dolphins was eye-popping and led all passers through Sunday's games, finishing 33-of-44 for 346 yards and two touchdowns.

But he also had two interceptions, bringing his season total to 10, eight of which have come in the last seven weeks. The Bucs have gone 1-6 in that stretch. Against the Dolphins, Mayfield threw both interceptions on deep balls.

Mayfield was not pressured much by Miami, a season-low 18 percent, but completed just 1-of-4 passes under pressure for 11 yards, taking three sacks, including a sack-fumble. That turnover came on back-to-back drives with the second interception, both with under seven minutes to play.

This is still a Bucs receiving corps that contains firepower that can be deployed all over the field, and the unit is deep enough that Mayfield can spread the ball around judiciously. Against Miami, two receivers finished with 100-plus yards: Jalen McMillan (seven receptions for 114 yards) and Chris Godwin (seven receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown).

A balanced rushing attack

The Bucs went through a revolving door at running back this season due to various injuries and leaned on hot hands at different times. The result is a unit heading into Week 18 with a relatively balanced attack.

Rachaad White has 539 yards, averaging 4.4 yards per carry, with four rushing touchdowns. Bucky Irving leads the team with 138 carries and is averaging 3.5 yards per touch for 484 yards. Mayfield adds an element with his legs, and is the third leading rusher on the team (335 yards on 48 carries), and proved that against the Panthers in Week 16 with two rushes of 23 yards and 26 yards respectively.

The Bucs battering ram in the red zone is Sean Tucker. While he's fourth on the team in rushing, he has the most touchdowns of anyone on the team with seven, including one he scored against the Panthers in Week 16.

Defense and special teams roller coaster ride

The Bucs defense was put into some unfortunate situations with the turnovers against the Dolphins, but didn't help themselves much. While the group was able to hold the Dolphins to 298 total yards and 4-of-12 on third down, Miami rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers, in his second start, finished 14-of-22 passes for 172 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions, with 2.0 sacks.

No defender had double-digit tackles.

The Bucs defense is allowing an average of 340.5 yards, which is middle of the pack in the league (20th overall) and are 24th in the NFL in scoring defense, allowing an average of 24.8 points per game.

On special teams, Chase McLaughlin had a 55-yard field goal blocked, his first miss from 50-plus this season. Additionally, the group gave up a 47-yard return to the Dolphins that set up a field goal drive.