Panthers Welcome Bucs for Huge NFC South Game

Written by Sharon Thorsland

This is about as big as it gets for the Panthers this season, as they welcome the Tampa Bay Bucs to Bank of America stadium on Sunday with a berth in the playoffs on the line. Both of these teams are sitting at 7-7 on the year and are coming off losses – the Panthers fell to the Saints in New Orleans, while the Bucs squandered a 14-point fourth quarter lead and lost to the Falcons on Thursday Night Football. That means the NFC South is still up for grabs. “We’re still in the hunt,” said running back Rico Dowdle. “It’s all about getting your foot in the door and go compete for that Super Bowl. And we’ve still got all the opportunities out there in front of us to go and make that happen.”

The Bucs started the season hot, going 5-2, but injuries to multiple key players derailed their progress and they’ve gone 2-5 since. But star receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are back now, so is running back Bucky Irvin. And of course, there is Baker Mayfield. The one-time Panther quarterback is having an excellent season, he’s thrown for nearly 3,000 yards with 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions, and can also make plays with his feet. His top target is Emeka Egbuka, the rookie out of Ohio State. Egbuka came up big when Evans and Godwin were out, racking up 806 yards and six touchdowns, and he’s averaging nearly 15 yards a catch.

The Bucs defense is good against the run and not so great against the pass. They rank 10th in the NFL allowing just 101 rushing yards per game, but are 30th in the league giving up nearly 247 passing yards a contest. They are aggressive, with 20 takeaways on the season, that’s 7th in the league. Star defensive tackle Vita Vea anchors the front line, while Ya-ya Diaby leads the team with six sacks. The secondary took a hit last when starting cornerback Zyon McCollum landed on IR with a hip injury. That means rookie Jacob Parrish will move into a starting role alongside veteran Jamel Dean and All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield, Jr.

If you’re keeping track of the Panthers win-loss pattern, you know that they’re due for a win. All season long they’ve followed up a disappointing loss with a huge win – Saints/Packers, 49ers/Rams, etc. And a win in this matchup would be huge as they fight to make the playoffs. The Panthers are confident they can get it done. “We’ve beaten two of the best teams and we were underdogs both of those games,” said Dowdle. “When it’s time to go win the game, we’ve been able to do that. That’s shows a good football team, it shows you we can get it done.”