Just as coach Jon Gruden likes to rest his stars and starters during preseason games, he prefers doing the same leading up to the playoffs.

That means Earnest Graham could find himself stuck on the bench. Just 102 yards shy of 1,000 yards, Graham has rushed for 898 yards on 222 carries (4.0 yards per carry) and 10 touchdowns, the third-highest total in franchise history.

"It's very meaningful," Graham said of reaching 1,000. "But like I said, we have some important games in front of us. So everybody on this team has to put some things on the backburner to ultimately get ready for some pretty important games."

But the Bucs have two incentives for winning:

1. Moving into the postseason with some momentum following a 21-19 loss to San Francisco last week.

2. Going 6-0 in NFC South divisional play for the first time.

"It's huge, because when you play division games, records don't really matter," said veteran linebacker Jeremiah Trotter. "You're playing those guys twice a year, and you're playing for pride, too. So it's a lot on the line when you play a division game."

Inactive for 13 of 15 games this season, the former Philadelphia Eagle made a season-high seven tackles last week against the 49ers. He could have a big role again today along with rookies Adam Hayward and Quincy Black.

That would allow starters Derrick Brooks, Barrett Ruud and Cato June a chance to rest for the playoffs, which start next week at home against the New York Giants.

Likewise, Michael Bennett might play a lot instead of Graham. The same holds true for Luke McCown supplanting Jeff Garcia at quarterback and new wide receivers Chad Lucas and Brian Clark subbing for Joey Galloway and Ike Hilliard.

"Health is an issue," Gruden said. "And it's not being overly cautious. We're going to do our best to physically go out, play a heckuva game and win."

Playing the Panthers, Gruden said, should help his team prepare for the Giants.

"They're massive football teams with deep backfields and explosive skill on the outside," Gruden said. "And both teams have very good corner coverage.

"The Panthers have three different cover guys, and the Giants appear to have outstanding players as well. That's where the meeting rooms and the practice work have to take all of it into consideration.