The Carolina Panthers are trying to stretch their winning streak to three when they welcome the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon, and there’s a little more uncertainty around Tampa Bay than there was a week ago.
Carolina opened the season 1-2, then found its footing with an upset win over the Lions at home, a bye week, and a road victory over an injured Eagles team last week. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, looked sharp in Dallas on Thursday Night Football, but followed that up with a 26-19 home loss to Pittsburgh. The Bucs may also have Baker Mayfield back for this one.
That return matters. Mayfield was a full participant in practice on Wednesday and is likely to play in Carolina, which gives Tampa Bay a different feel heading into Week 7. The Bucs have already shown they can hang away from home, playing Cincinnati close to start the year and then knocking off the Cowboys in Dallas.
These teams split the season series last year, and the home team won both meetings.
From a betting standpoint, the market hasn’t budged on the spread since opening, while the total has ticked up from 43.5 to 44.5. SI Betting’s Iain MacMillan laid out the case for Tampa Bay in his Road to 272 Bets column, saying:
"It's time to sell high on this Panthers team. Their offense has been phenomenal to start the year, but I have plenty of questions surrounding the ability of some of the defenses they've had to face.
Once they started facing top-10 defenses, I wouldn't be surprised to see them significantly regress. It could start this weekend when they take on a Tampa Bay defense that's fourth in opponent EPA per play and eighth in opponent success rate.
I'm going to get in on the Bucs early this week and hope that Baker Mayfield ends up returning to action. If he starts on Sunday, we'll likely get some nice closing line value on the Buccaneers."
MacMillan’s angle is straightforward: Carolina has impressed early, but this could be the spot where that run cools off. Tampa Bay’s defense has been strong by the numbers, and with Mayfield trending toward a return, the Buccaneers look a little sturdier than they did after last week’s stumble.
He also pointed to the Panthers being “due for a bit of regression” after their last two wins, and that’s the thread running through this matchup. Carolina has earned the right to be taken seriously, but Tampa Bay still has the profile of a team that can push this one into a tighter contest than the recent form might suggest.
In Other News...
Panthers Secondary Could Get A Huge Boost At The Right Time
Carolinas secondary may be getting some relief soon after spending two games without starting defensive backs Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson. Ahead of Week 7, head coach Dave Canales said both are recovering and moving in the right direction, a welcome update for a defense that has had to patch things together on the back end while waiting for its top corners to work back into the mix.
Horn is eager to keep progressing in his recovery, while Jackson has started to regain the speed and change-of-direction ability he needs to get back on the field. The Panthers could open their practice window in the coming weeks, which would at least give the team a better sense of how close it is to getting two important pieces back at a time when every bit of stability in the secondary matters. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Defense Just Took Another Hit Before Buccaneers Game
The Panthers entered their matchup with Tampa Bay already dealing with a defense that has been patched together for weeks, and the latest inactive list only adds to the strain. Jaelan Phillips is out with a hamstring injury, while Thomas Incoom has been moved to injured reserve because of a calf issue, leaving Carolina to keep leaning on its next wave of depth.
Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson are still on injured reserve as they work back from significant injuries, which has made the secondary a constant juggling act. To help fill the gaps, Carolina elevated Nick Hampton and Robert Rochell from the practice squad and activated Bam Martin-Scott from injured reserve, another reminder of how thin the margin has become on that side of the ball. [Read more 🡒]
Bryce Young Just Changed What Panthers Fans Should Expect
The Panthers offense has looked like a different operation this season, with Carolina sitting near the top of the league in both production and scoring. Derrick Brown has seen enough up close to point to Brad Idzik and Bryce Young as two of the biggest reasons for the jump, and it is a notable shift for a team that has spent recent seasons trying to find any real offensive traction.
Brown also put a practical standard on where this group should be headed, saying the goal is to get to the second round of the playoffs. For a Carolina team that has spent a long time chasing stability, that kind of expectation says plenty about how much the offense has raised the bar and how much more the Panthers now believe is possible. [Read more 🡒]