Will Carolina Panthers spoil Tampa Bay Bucs’ playoff hopes? Our predicted scores

Alex Zietlow, Mike Kaye, Scott Fowler, Langston Wertz Jr.
·3 min read

The final game of the regular season is upon us, and that means two different things to the two teams playing in Bank of America Stadium on Sunday.

On the home side, there are the Carolina Panthers — the 2-14 squad with an interim head coach and a rookie quarterback that has already clinched the NFL’s worst record.

On the visiting side, there are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — the 8-8 team that is a win away from conquering the embattled NFC South and earning a fourth consecutive playoff appearance.

The Bucs, led by former Carolina quarterback Baker Mayfield, are 4.5-point favorites as of Thursday evening, per FanDuel Sportsbook. The contest will kick off at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast by FOX, with Kenny Albert (play-by-play) and Jonathan Vilma (analyst) in the booth and Shannon Spake (sideline) on the field. Local fans can also catch the game on 99.7 FM or on one of the affiliates on the Panthers Radio Network.

Here’s a look at score predictions from The Charlotte Observer, as well as from NFL experts across the country.

Carolina Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Bucs score predictions

Keeping accountable, Observer columnist Scott Fowler leads the way with a 13-3 record, followed by Langston Wertz Jr. at 11-5. The paper’s beat writers, Alex Zietlow (9-7) and Mike Kaye (8-8), have each taken their lumps in predictions this season.

Mike Kaye: Buccaneers 23, Panthers 17. Carolina’s campaign of comeuppance is nearing its end. I’m still not sure what to make of Bryce Young’s yo-yo season, but I’ve been impressed by his durability as he has been bent like an accordion between defenders every week. The Bucs are trying to win the division and still have Panthers killer Mike Evans on their roster, so I can’t imagine this will be a fun afternoon for the Carolina faithful in Uptown this Sunday. The offseason is on its way — time for another lengthy coaching search.

Scott Fowler: Buccaneers 20, Panthers 10. Keep your drinks firmly in your hands and not on your neighbors, ladies and gentlemen, no matter what you see on the field. The Panthers won’t get shut out again, at least, as they did a week ago. But this season is about to come to a merciful end with another loss.

Langston Wertz Jr.: Buccaneers 28, Panthers 13: And so it ends. The Panthers were 2-14 in 2010, 1-15 in 2001 and 4-12 in 1998. But this season feels like the worst of them all. We’ve seen Carolina turn around fast, though. In 2003, two years after the one-win season, Carolina was in the Super Bowl. But these Panthers aren’t winning this week. After Baker Mayfield gets a win, Tampa will go to the playoffs and Carolina will go into an offseason filled with questions: Who’s the new coach? Is there a new GM? How much roster churn will there be? The biggest question, though, is this: Will some hope come with all that change?

Alex Zietlow: Buccaneers 22, Panthers 12. The Panthers played well against the Bucs a few weeks ago, holding Baker Mayfield in check and propelling Chuba Hubbard to a 100-plus-yard, two-touchdown game on the ground. But any hope for a Panthers win in this one doesn’t come from a rational place, I fear. What would constitute a moral victory for Carolina? Keeping rookie quarterback Bryce Young healthy. Everything else can be addressed in the offseason.

Expert predictions across the country

ESPN: Take a look at this week’s picks provided by ESPN’s panel of NFL experts.

CBS: Pete Prisco has the Bucs beating the Panthers and claiming the NFC South title. What a year it has been.

NFL.com: Ali Bhanpuri is taking the Bucs in this one, too, banking on the fact that the Panthers against the Jags show up instead of the Panthers against the Packers.