Monday Night Football Preview: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Carolina Panthers
Cam Newton
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers have been some of the most disappointing teams in the first quarter of the season. Both teams are 1 – 3 overall and are tied for last in the NFC South. The Panthers and Buccaneers both have premier quarterbacks, but the former MVP, Cam Newton will not participate in this game because of concussion protocol and Jameis Winston seems to be having an up and down season in the first four games. These two teams have allowed over 110+ points in their first four games and this doesn’t look like it will slow down anytime soon. This game will be a high scoring game that will be decided on whose defense can stay on the field longer. Derek Anderson will be replacing Cam Newton, who finished 17/23 with 172 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions in his game last week when he replaced Cam Newton against the Atlanta Falcons. Jameis Winston will headline with Mike Evans, who has 26 receptions for 360 yards and 3 touchdowns. A lot of these numbers are somewhat fluffed because the defenses are so atrocious for both sides.
Entering the season, the Carolina Panthers had a lot of hype behind them, but by the time they played the predicted under .500 Denver Broncos and lost in the game that reminded us of Super Bowl 50, all that hype was gone. After that loss, the Panthers seemed lifeless and the only win, they could muster up was against the San Francisco 49ers, who might have to duke it out with the Cleveland Browns for worst team in the league this year. It seems as if the Panthers’ lust as left us and they are now just another sub-par team in the NFC South, just like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Panthers are going to need to work in all areas to become successful again. Ideally, every part of defense and a quick replacement for Cam Newton, because he was carrying the team on his shoulders. Newton leads the team obviously in passing yards, but also in rushing yards, which is based on the offensive style, but Newton has made the most rushing attempts out of any other running back on the team. This would be justified if they were 4 – 0 and Newton was dubbed one of the bests rushing QBs in the league, but they are 1 – 3 and Newton got his concussion because he was rushing into the end zone last game. The Panthers will need their backup QB to play at a higher level than he has ever played before to keep up with Jameis Winston, because if he can’t, the Buccaneers will take this game away from the Panthers.
The Buccaneers, on the other hand, haven’t really changed that much from last season and this is a bad thing for them. The Buccs ended up 6 – 10 with a first overall round pick last year and the same thing could happen to them again this year. Jameis Winston is definitely playing at a higher level than he was last year, but not to the point where he can carry his team into a playoff position or even above .500. The Buccs offense is fine in the sense that they score a lot of points even against “defensive” teams like the Los Angeles Rams. The problem is when Winston leaves the field and his defense comes on. Tampa Bay’s defense averages an allowance of 32.0 pts/g. In their first four games, the points that they have allowed has gone like this: 24, 40, 37, and 27. An NFL team can’t win games, allowing that many points in a game unless the quarterback for your team is Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady. The Buccs will need to improve on their defense and then they could pull an upset on the Panthers, but without that improvement, count the Buccs out for the count in this game.
Both teams have pretty awful defenses when regarding pts/g, but that doesn’t mean their offenses are that bad. It actually helps their offenses because they are on the field for a longer time compared to their defense. This game’s score line might look similar to that of the WNBA championship games because of how bad these two teams’ defenses are. I predict that the Panthers will take this game away from the Buccs because in general, they are the better team.
Final Prediction of Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Carolina Panthers: 27 – 38
