CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- — Baker Mayfield has spent the past two seasons making the Carolina Panthers think twice about releasing him.

The Tampa Bay quarterback is 4-0 against the Panthers since leaving Carolina and has led the Buccaneers to back-to-back division titles in 2023 and '24. On Sunday, Mayfield will look to continue that success when the Bucs travel to Charlotte with first place in the NFC South on the line.

Both teams are 7-7 and play each other twice in the final three weeks.

The Panthers had an opportunity to seize control of the division last Sunday against New Orleans but surrendered a fourth quarter lead and lost 20-17 to the last-place Saints. Carolina's loss put the Bucs, who had squandered a 14-point fourth-quarter lead of their own a few days earlier and lost 29-28 loss to Atlanta, back in the driver's seat in the NFC South since they have a better record against common opponents.

Bucs coach Todd Bowles put his team on blast after that loss, talking about accountability during an expletive-filled rant in his postgame news conference.

“We understood the message after the ball game,” Bowles said earlier this week. "We met on it, we talked about it, we got it out of our system. Everybody is hard at work and trying to do the right things to win the ball game.”

The inexperienced Panthers haven't been to the playoffs since 2017.

Second-year head coach Dave Canales said his team is still learning how to handle success in a season when it repeatedly has followed up big wins against teams like the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams with losses to teams they arguably should've beat.

“Yeah, this team is trying to find an identity of professionalism, of maturity to just have that consistent outcome weekly,” Canales said. “That’s what we’re looking for. That’s what we’re shooting for."

Stopping the run

The Buccaneers are 10th in the NFL in run defense but have allowed more than 100 yards in two straight games and more than 95 yards rushing in four of the past six. Led by Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard, the Panthers are ninth in rushing offense, averaging 125.6 yards per game.

“It’s going to be critical on both sides of the ball,” Bowles said of the team's run defense. “They’ve got a very huge offensive line. They do a great job running the football. I think they had like four games with over 175 yards rushing and they got more 100-yard rushing games after that. So, it’s going to be critical.”

The Panthers have run for more than 100 yards 10 times, including back-to-back 200-yard games in Weeks 9 and 10.

Baker’s targets

The Buccaneers had their top four wide receivers available for the first time last week after Mike Evans returned from injury and Jalen McMillan made his season debut.

Evans finished with six catches for 132 yards and McMillan had two catches for 38 yards. Rookie standout Emeka Egbuka caught four passes for 64 yards and Chris Godwin Jr. had four receptions for 20 yards.

“Nothing against the guys we had playing, but it’s guys that I’ve had a lot of reps with,” Mayfield said. "(It’s) that I really know their body language coming in and out of routes like the back of my hand and so, it’s a good feeling to have. Now, we just need to go do it.”

Pass interferences

Evans always seems to elevate his game against the Panthers.

The Buccaneers wide receiver has seven touchdown catches in his last five games against Carolina, including a memorable 207-yard, three-touchdown performance on New Year’s Day in 2023 when Tom Brady was at quarterback.

Canales said Evans' physical nature makes him tough to cover, and added that task could be made more difficult given Sunday's officiating crew leans toward calling more defensive pass interference penalties than most.

“(Evans) draws a lot of defensive pass interference calls, and going into this game I understand the crew that we have, that’s something that they do call,” Canales said. “This is information we’re aware of. But we have to be up to the challenge, and (cornerback) Jaycee (Horn) and Mike (Jackson) are going to have their opportunities. You have to play him physically, because he’s going to bring that power forward type of mindset to the position.”

Another O-line combination?

The Panthers are monitoring a knee injury to starting left tackle Ickey Ekwonu.

Ekwonu injured his knee last Sunday against the Saints but continued to play through the pain. He had an MRI early in the week, but the team has not released the results and he is considered day to day. If Ekwonu isn't able to play, Yosh Nijman would get the start, which would mark Carolina's 11th different starting offensive lineman combination this season.

“We’ll make sure we do all the testing that we need to and do the right thing by Ickey,” Canales said Wednesday. “He wants to play, and I wouldn’t expect anything different from him. But we have to make sure we do the right thing, and put him through the wringer, and make sure we test it so that it’s strong and he’s able to perform."

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AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi in Tampa, Florida, contributed to this report.

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