The Tampa Bay Buccaneers absolutely throttled the Carolina Panthers in Week 7, notching a wire-to-wire victory that ended in a score of 43-13.

The Buccaneers straight-up dominated all three phases of the game against the Panthers. It’s easily Todd Bowles and Co.’s cleanest and biggest win of the season, by all measures.

So, with that being said, let’s go ahead and dive into the winners and losers from this week’s matchup.

Winners

1. RB Bucky Irving

It was clear from the start that this was going to be a big game for Irving and man, did he go off, finishing the day with 24 carries for 106 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and hauling in a pass for four yards, as well

It was how he went about his day, too. Irving looked the best he’s looked all year, making guys miss on a regular basis while also powering through tackles and Panthers defenders.

He’s been the strength of the offseason all year long and while the Buccaneers need to be careful and avoid overworking him, they need to feed him as much as possible in responsible fashion.

2. EDGE Yaya Diaby

3.0 sacks is a great day for any pass rusher and it’s a career-best for Diaby, who had yet to record a sack through the first six weeks of the season. He also had three tackles for loss and three quarterback hits on top of the sacks.

He was all over the place and really showed off the power that’s helped him become the Buccaneers’ best outside pass rusher. Especially on the bull rush for his second sack that totally destroyed Panthers tackle Rasheed Walker.

Hopefully this is the beginning of the breakout year a lot of people thought Diaby would have in 2026, because that would be a major boon for the Bucs’ pass rush and defense as a whole.

3. CB Zyon McCollum

McCollum continues to make plays during what has been the best season of his career through seven games. He returned the blocked PAT in the first quarter for a “touchdown”, which basically shut down the Panthers for the day.

Then, he took advantage of a Bryce Young miscommunication by snagging his first interception of the year. McCollum has been lights out in 2026 and more interceptions will earn him the recognition he deserves.

And speaking of shutting down, he helped hold the Panthers’ dangerous duo of Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker to just five receptions for 49 yards on 10 targets.

Regardless, he’s stacked good games every single week, now, and there’s no reason to think it slows down.

4. Buccaneers special teams

The blocked PAT/return honestly set the tone for the game. The Buccaneers never looked back after that and the special teams keyed that momentum.

The return coverage was also good and the return game itself had a couple bright spots, including Tez Johnson’s 22-yard punt return and Kenneth Gainwell’s 30-yard kick return.

Even Riley Dixon’s struggles (we’ll get to those in a minute) weren’t enough to keep Danny Smith’s unit from making the list.

5. S Tykee Smith

Smith blocked the PAT in the first quarter, recorded an interception, and finished with the second-most tackles on the day (7). He was actually leading in the latter category late in the fourth quarter before Josiah Trotter eventually finished with more.

Smith is developing into one of the NFL’s better safeties and this week’s game shows just how his ceiling really is.

6. OT Benjamin Chukwuma

Chukwuma filled in for Luke Goedeke and had a very good day. He was moving guys in the run game and protected Mayfield well.

Yes, it’s limited action, but it’s hard to not get excited about Chukwuma’s potential as he continues to develop.

7. QB Baker Mayfield

It’s an easy day at the office any time an NFL quarterback throws less than 12 passes, yet his offense scores 43 points. That’s exactly what Mayfield needed in the his first game back from injury. He was also hit just once all day long.

Don’t get it wrong either: Mayfield still made some impactful plays, including the 14-yard touchdown pass he threw to Tez Johnson in the second quarter.

Overall, he looked good and that should carry over against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 8.

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Losers

1. LB SirVocea Dennis

Dennis was mostly responsible for the Panthers’ only touchdown/points on the day, but he really wasn’t put in the best position.

The Buccaneers had three linebackers on the field for the 2nd and 5, so they were clearly expecting a run play to be called. Still, to get burned a 34-year-old tight end that’s played sparingly over the last few years is never something you want to see.

Dennis just simply isn’t good in coverage and is a liability when on the field in that context. Yes, the Bucs were expecting run, but he still gave up the play, ultimately.

2. P Riley Dixon

It’s really hard to find negatives from this game, but Dixon is definitely one. The NFL’s worst punter had yet another bad day, averaging just 29.5 net yards per punt after averaging an NFL-worst 38.0 net yards per punt coming into the game.

Whether it’s forcing touchbacks, poor hangtime, or just bad kicks, Dixon is in a major funk and it doesn’t look like he’s getting out of it anytime soon.