Get to know Panthers’ Week 17 opponent: Bucs’ Brady turning ball over, OL beaten up
The Carolina Panthers (6-9) need to sweep the season series against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-8) on the road on Sunday to keep their playoff hopes alive.
After defeating the Buccaneers, 21-3, in Week 7, the Panthers have stayed relatively competitive within their lowly NFC South division. To maintain their tiebreaker over Tampa Bay, the Panthers need to defeat the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium, which would tie their respective records at 7-9 heading into Week 18.
The Panthers are coming off a 37-23 shellacking of the Detroit Lions on Christmas Eve. The Buccaneers just squeaked out a 19-16 overtime win over the Arizona Cardinals on Christmas night.
Here are five things to know about the Buccaneers heading into the all-important Week 17 slug-fest:
Tom Brady is turning the ball over, a lot . . .
Against the Cardinals, Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady tied one of his least-publicized streaks. Brady threw two interceptions to cornerback Marco Wilson, which extended his streak of games with two or more interceptions to three consecutive matchups. Brady has only done that once before in his career — in 2002, his second season as a starter with the New England Patriots.
Over the past four games, Brady has thrown seven interceptions. To make matters worse, he is now being blocked by his third-string left tackle. Fill-in starter Josh Wells was lost for the season in the win over Arizona.
While Brady and the Buccaneers have surged in their hurry-up offense, the team has plodded its way through the second half of the season with mostly predictable play calls and poor play on offense.
Brady can seemingly come back from any adversity — he still ranks in the top five in passing yardage — so the Panthers need to take the ball away when given the chance. Stealing possessions and keeping the ball out of Brady’s hands is the way to beat the Buccaneers.
The Bucs’ running game is shipwrecked
The Buccaneers have the worst rushing offense in the league. Statistically, the offense ranks last in total rushing yards (1,155), yards per carry (3.4) and rushing touchdowns (4).
To put that into perspective — without counting Christian McCaffrey’s do-everything workload during the first six weeks — D’Onta Foreman, Chuba Hubbard and Raheem Blackshear have combined for 1,272 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.
Foreman has produced 5 rushing touchdowns since Week 7, which trumps the entire Buccaneers’ offense this season.
If the Panthers can quickly neutralize Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette, Tampa Bay will become one-dimensional, and the pass rush can pin its ears back and rush Brady.
The Panthers will be tempted to pass
The Buccaneers’ passing defense has served up a mixed bag this season. While they are sacking the opposing QB consistently and limiting explosive connections, the red zone has not been the unit’s friend this year.
The Bucs have allowed 24 passing touchdowns, tied for sixth-most in the league. And while they’ve done a solid job of limiting big plays, they have only created 9 interceptions through 15 games, which ranks among the bottom-third in the NFL.
The Panthers have pushed their identity as a ground-and-pound attack, but there will be opportunities in the passing game. If the offensive line can continue to protect Sam Darnold well, then there will be shots to be had through the air.
Bucs’ kicker is pretty reliable
If this rematch comes down to a field goal, Buccaneers kicker Ryan Succop should concern the Panthers.
Through 15 games, Succop has made 29 of his 34 attempts. His 85.3% mark ranks fifth among kickers with more than 30 attempts (Note: Panthers kicker Eddy Piñeiro ranks second with 93.9%).
Succop is 27 of 28 on attempts between 20 and 49 yards. However, he is just 2 of 6 on attempts of 50 or more yards with a season-high of 54.
Essentially, the Panthers need to keep the Buccaneers out of manageable field goal range or face the consequences. While that seems like a logical strategy for any matchup, Succop is one of the more efficient and accurate players at his position.
Despite passing woes, Bucs still have weapons
While the Buccaneers have struggled to move the ball consistently this season, they still have plenty of weapons on offense.
Wideouts Mike Evans and Chris Godwin have combined for 1,765 receving yards and six touchdowns this year. The Buccaneers also have deep-threat pass-catchers in Russell Gage and Julio Jones.
Fournette has struggled as a runner this year, but his work in the passing game shouldn’t be ignored. He has collected 68 catches for 500 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Buccaneers have been forced to work the quick game with a banged-up offensive line.
The Buccaneers also have a pair of rookies — running back Rachaad White and tight end Cade Otton — who have been regular targets for Brady. While the group has only produced 21 passing touchdowns this season, Brady is still averaging a strong 278.5 passing yards per game.
Brady has also done a nice job of avoiding sacks, despite having a makeshift front blocking for him. Through 15 games, Brady has only been sacked 19 times.
The Panthers are going to need to play sound technique in coverage with their banged-up secondary. Keeping the Buccaneers’ weapons in front of the defensive backfield will be a major key in stopping Brady and the Buccaneers. If C.J. Henderson and/or Keith Taylor Jr. have a bad game, it could be curtains for the Panthers’ playoff hopes.
This story was originally published December 27, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
