The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have done enough to stay in the chase for a postseason spot, but they can’t afford a slip-up.The Carolina Panthers will try to knock an opponent out of playoff contention for the second week in a row when they visit the Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon at Tampa, Fla.”We understand where we are,” Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles said. “It’s great to be playing December football. We just have to take care of ourselves and look up at the end and see where we’re at.”The Buccaneers (8-7) are tied with the Atlanta Falcons atop the NFC South, but even if Tampa Bay wins out, there’s no guarantee the team will claim the division because Atlanta owns the tiebreaker after sweeping the season series.”We’re in playoff mode,” Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “We’ve got to take care of business or we have no shot.”The Panthers (4-11) snapped a four-game losing streak by winning their home finale by defeating Arizona 36-30 in overtime last week. That outcome doused the Cardinals’ playoff prospects.”It has been my hope all year to build a brand of football that we’re proud of,” first-year Carolina coach Dave Canales said.Now it’s a chance for Canales to disrupt the plans of his former team. He was Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator before taking the job with the Panthers.The Buccaneers won the first meeting with the Panthers this season, 26-23 in overtime Dec. 1 in Charlotte. Carolina scored a go-ahead touchdown with 30 seconds left, but Chase McLaughlin’s 51-yard field goal on the final play of regulation extended the game, and then McLaughlin’s 30-yarder in overtime won it.Mayfield threw for 235 yards in that game, while Carolina quarterback Bryce Young passed for 298.Tampa Bay lost 26-24 at Dallas last weekend, halting a four-game winning streak that included three lopsided victories. Mayfield’s 303 yards in the air against the Cowboys marked his most passing yards in a seven-game stretch.For the Panthers, six of their last seven games have been decided by six points or fewer, with three of the games going to overtime.