Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head to Carolina to take on Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers. This will be the first matchup between the NFC South teams this season, they’ll meet again in Tampa in Week 17. Let’s take a look at this Buccaneers-Panthers preview and predictions.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers snapped a four game losing streak with a win over the New York Giants on the road last week. The Buccaneers now sit at 5-6 on the season and just one game behind the Atlanta Falcons for the NFC South division lead.
For Carolina, what looked like a completely lost season and number one overall quarterback pick that was a complete bust, has suddenly turned around. Carolina beat the Saints and Giants, and then last week put the two-time defending Super Bowl champs on the ropes losing just 30-27 to them. Bryce Young is starting to show signs of the quarterback the Panthers drafted him to be.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers Preview and Predictions Video
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers Preview and Predictions
Mike Evans Over 61.5 Receiving Yards (-142)
Mike Evans loves to play against the Carolina Panthers. Lucky for him, they get to play them twice every season. In seven of the last eight times he’s played the Panthers Evans has gone over this number of 61.5.
Not only has he gone over it, he’s crushed it with games of 162, 207, and 104 and twice he’s hit 96 yards in that span. On top of that, Carolina has one of the worst passing defenses in the league, allowing 226.7 yards through the air per game.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers -4.5 (-135)
The Panthers have been impressive over the last three weeks. But the bar was also set very low, they are riding high off an almost upset of the Chiefs and the Buccaneers have a lot to play for in this game.
Tampa Bay is 4-2 in the last six games ATS, 4-1 ATS in their last five road games, 6-2 ATS against Carolina in their last eight matchups, and 4-1 ATS the last five times they’ve played in Carolina. All the numbers point to Baker and his boys, and while it’s been impressive what Carolina has done. It’s best not to overvalue them.
