Bucs QB Winston: Coaches want to win more than some players

But after the Bucs kicked their first points onto the board, it seemed a light came on for this Panthers squad. Hoyer may not be an elite quarterback, but he threw for 293 yards and three touchdowns in the Panthers’ 31-20 victory at EverBank Field in mid-October, when the Buccaneers were playing better defensively.

He also scored on two 1-yard touchdown runs as Carolina became the seventh team in National Football League history to win 15 regular-season games. The margin of defeat matched the Bucs’ largest this season, bookending their year with 28-point losses to the teams with the NFL’s worst (Titans) and best records.

“One thing I did tell these guys, keep your personality”, Rivera said. “I got an opportunity to meet him a couple of times and for me to be in the same talks with him – it’s just a blessing”.

Cam Newton: In an Observer survey conducted this week, 25 of the 50 Associated Press MVP voters were reached, and 19 said they were voting for or leaning toward Newton.

Finding that edge is probably why head coach Ron Rivera went all “Riverboat Ron” with Newton and the rest of the starters despite having the overall top seed in the NFC essentially clinched by halftime. Health isn’t an issue right now with most of the core at 100 percent besides cornerback Charles Tillman, who is dealing with a nagging knee injury.

Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis returns an interception against Tampa Bay Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.

On the season, the Carolina Panthers average 222.3 yards in passing and 144.7 yards in rushing.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie quarterback questioned his teammate’s desire and expressed angst over the team’s 6-10 season Sunday night following a 38-10 loss to the Carolina Panthers in the regular-season finale.

The Buccaneers (6-10) lost their final four games after flirting with playoff contention in early December. The Panthers strong running game is a prized asset for a playoff team in the NFL.

He had 51 rushing to account for one more yard than Jonathan Stewart, who hasn’t played in the last two because of a foot injury. His rushing total for the season was 214 yards, with six runs resulting in touchdowns.

_Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans was ejected with 1:55 to play for disrespecting an official – twice.

“Creating plays on defense [and] getting the ball back to the offense as much as we possibly can”, he said. “He got thrown out of the game and that happened”. Devin Funchess, another rookie, will start at wide receiver if Ted Ginn Jr. can’t play. But Rivera didn’t want his team focusing on option No. 2, so he informed stadium operations not to post any highlights of the Cardinals-Seahawks game inside the stadium. “We’re going to do it a little bit different than we have in the past”, Rivera said. We wanted to play the way we needed to play. “I think there are some lessons in that for us”. With it, they might just win the whole darn thing. A loss in Atlanta last weekend cost the Panthers a shot at perfection, but it didn’t have any lasting impact on their pursuit of a Super Bowl title, other than creating some pressure to win Sunday.