Sunday was a roller coaster for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but one that ended up staying on the tracks. It didn’t appear that would be the case, though, as the Bucs dragged the Carolina Panthers to overtime — the fact that it wasn’t vice versa says a lot.

A win is a win, though, and the one Tampa Bay secured in Charlotte helped propel the team back into the thick of the playoff race and the fight for an NFC South crown. The Bucs are just a game behind the Atlanta Falcons for first place and are a game behind the Washington Commanders for the final Wild Card spot.

In the span of a few hours the Bucs went from the 11th team in the conference standings to being the first team out of the playoff picture, which is a a huge jump. Just a week ago the team was coming out of its bye week riding a four game losing streak but now the season has completely turned around.

As big as the win was, it wasn’t easy. Tampa Bay couldn’t stay out of its own way and nearly gave the game away to Carolina, but was saved by a critical turnover in overtime that changed everything.

Buccaneers radio call of Chuba Hubbard’s OT fumble somehow makes it even better

After an incredible one-handed catch by Adam Thielen that set the Panthers up in field goal range with a chance to win the game, Carolina decided to run another play to try and get a close look for Eddy Pineiro. It wasn’t the worst idea in the world, especially considering Pineiro had already missed two kicks earlier in the game.

Of course, the risk in running more plays is the chance for a turnover which is exactly what happened. On the very next play after Thielen’s catch, Chub Hubbard fumbled the ball away and the Bucs went on to win the game.

Gene Deckerhoff was on the call and turned in a masterful performance in overtime. His call of Chuba Hubbard’s fumble helped make the moment even better than it already was.

It’s hard to feel great about the win, but it counts all the same despite how ugly it was. What matters is that Tampa Bay didn’t give up and showed the type of fight good teams have to gut out a win, and now they’re in a position to potentially take back first place in the NFC South next Sunday.

Tampa Bay gets a game against the Las Vegas Raiders while the Falcons have a tough matchup against a Vikings team both looking to keep pace with the Lions as well as get some revenge on Kirk Cousins.

All of that bodes well for the Bucs’ chances to flip the standings, which wouldn’t have been possible without a win in Charlotte.