The Carolina Panthers will head into Week 7 with a quarterback question hanging over their divisional matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Carolina comes out of its bye riding momentum after beating the Philadelphia Eagles on the road in Week 6. That result pushed the Panthers to 3-2 and gave them consecutive wins against NFC opponents.
They also already own a division win, taking down the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2 for their first victory of the season. With Carolina sitting atop the division, those early games inside the NFC South have already mattered.
Tampa Bay, meanwhile, arrives at 1-5 after an overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Buccaneers picked up their first win in Week 5, when they beat the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football.
The biggest storyline, though, is who will be under center on Sunday afternoon in Carolina.
Baker Mayfield has been sidelined for weeks because of his injury, though he returned to practice this week. In his absence, rookie Jalon Daniels has handled the job.
Daniels lost to the Green Bay Packers before picking up his first win of the season against Dallas. He’s been uneven, but Bowles said the extra reps have helped him settle in.
So who gets the start? Todd Bowles isn’t saying.
What he did make clear is that Tampa Bay has to prepare for Daniels as if he’s the guy. He also said both Daniels and Mayfield will be in prep meetings all week long just in case.
Bowles added that if Mayfield is able to go, he will play as long as he’s healthy. That’s been the standard for him throughout his career.
For Carolina, the uncertainty adds a little more work to the week, but not a totally unfamiliar challenge. The Panthers have seen Mayfield several times before and know what he brings. Daniels is the tougher study, with only three games of tape to work from, but either way it should give Carolina’s defense a solid test as it tries to keep building.
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