NFC Notes: Jaycee Horn, Antoine Winfield, Buccaneers, Panthers, Saints

Buccaneers

Bucs DB Antoine Winfield said the team still has their full season in front of them and it’s on them to capitalize on the remaining schedule.

“It’s still in our hands,” Winfield Jr. said, via ESPN’s Jenna Laine. “We’ve got to go ahead and make sure we take care of our business. We’ve got to win our games that we’re supposed to win. It’s still there for us. We still have hope in that aspect. It’s getting serious. It’s getting down to the wire. Coming down to these final games, we’ve got to make sure that we get some wins under our belt so we can make this playoff push.”

Bucs HC Todd Bowles refused to put the blame on one player and said that the team and coaching staff needs to do a better job of executing.

“Sometimes it’s the rush not getting there, [or] sometimes it’s the secondary,” Bowles said. “It’s a combination, it’s a defensive thing, [and] it’s not a secondary thing. At certain times, they get beat, and all you see on TV is the defensive back getting beat, but you don’t see the whole play. The coaches [have] to coach it better, the players [have] to play it better, so we are all in it together. We’re not putting blame on anybody, and we’ll work on it.”

Bowles addressed rookie OLB YaYa Diaby‘s lack of playing time despite being one of their more productive players off of the edge.

“We do different things a lot of time with a lot of people on there. We don’t have a justification for it when we rotate our guys,” Bowles said. “Our stats are going to always look different for different guys. Yaya had a lot of production [Sunday], [and] I’m happy he did. He plays a lot, and he’ll play more for us.”

Panthers

Panthers HC Frank Reich was asked if CB Jaycee Horn’s window will close without him being activated from injured reserve. 

“I probably don’t wanna comment on that,” Reich said, via PanthersWire.com. “I think he’s doin’ well. I don’t think that’s gonna happen, Joe. We gotta take it as it comes. But he’s been makin’ good progress, feel good about where he’s at. So we’ll continue to take it day by day, week by week.”

• The Panthers officially ruled out TE Hayden Hurst (concussion) from Week 12, while CB C.J. Henderson (concussion) and Horn (hamstring) are doubtful, via David Newton.

Saints

• Saints QB Derek Carr (shoulder/concussion) said he was at the team’s facility every day over their bye week to rehab and go through the league’s concussion protocol, via Katherine Terrell.