Will the Panthers beat the Buccaneers? Here are predictions from national NFL experts
The first time Carolina played Tampa Bay this season, the Buccaneers were highly motivated coming off a season-opening loss, forced four turnovers and beat the Panthers 31-17.
When Carolina plays Tampa Bay on Sunday, the Bucs should be highly motivated again, coming off a 38-3 nationally televised loss to Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints.
Against the Saints, Tampa Bay QB Tom Brady suffered the most lopsided loss of his career and threw three interceptions in one game for the first time in nearly a decade.
On Sunday, Tampa Bay (6-3) will play a Panthers team (3-6) that has lost four straight games and will be without star running back Christian McCaffrey, who has a shoulder injury.
McCaffrey missed several games with an ankle injury before returning for last week’s game at Kansas City, when he injured his shoulder.
So what do the NFL experts think about this one?
▪ The Charlotte Observer’s Scott Fowler thinks Carolina loses another close one. He picks Tampa Bay 24-19.
▪ Bill Bender of the Sporting News thinks the loss of McCaffrey will be difficult for the Panthers to recover from, and he thinks new Bucs receiver Antonio Brown will score his first TD of the season in a 27-20 win.
▪ Over at ESPN, Jenna Laine and David Newton both see the Bucs winning in a fairly close game. Laine has the Bucs 30-21 and Newton has the Bucs winning 24-20.
Nine of the network’s 10 NFL experts also pick Tampa.
▪ Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com sees a close game.
“Tampa Bay ranks dead last in Football Outsiders’ variance metric, an indication that no one knows which Bucs team will show up,” Rosenthal writes. “That’s a concern against a Panthers offense with many similarities to the Saints attack that just took Tampa apart. I’m still picking talent over scheme because of Carolina’s poor pass rush.”
▪ The six Bleacher Report experts are split. Three pick the Panthers. Three pick the Bucs. The seven experts at USA Today, however, are in unison.
▪ Five of the six experts at Sports Illustrated pick Tampa Bay. All 10 experts at SB Nation like the Bucs.
▪ At Pro Football talk, Michael David Smith and Mike Florio are calling for a Bucs’ bounce back.
Writes Florio: “The Panthers aren’t as bad as they were supposed to be, but it’s not a good idea to draw the Bucs in a bounce-back game.”
