The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came out of their Week 11 bye rejuvenated physically and refocused mentally. That was evident in their performance last Sunday in the Meadowlands, when they throttled the New York Giants 30-7 and racked up 450 yards of total offense. Now the goal is to build on that momentum down the stretch, beginning this coming Sunday in Charlotte, where the 5-6 Buccaneers will return to NFC South play with a road game against the 3-8 Carolina Panthers. Kickoff at Bank of America Stadium is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET.
The Panthers also had their bye in Week 11, a slight interruption to what has been the team's best stretch of football this season. After a 1-7 start, the Panthers secured consecutive narrow victories over the Saints and Giants. Following the week off, Carolina went toe-to-toe with the defending Super Bowl champions, nearly handing the Kansas City Chiefs their second loss of the season. Kansas City managed to escape with a 30-27 win on a walk-off field goal but second-year quarterback Bryce Young threw for a season-high 263 yards and engineered a game-tying touchdown drive in the final two minutes.
This is the first of two times the division rivals will meet over a five-week span, which means Carolina and its head coach, former Tampa Bay Offensive Coordinator Dave Canales, could have a lot to say about whether the Buccaneers can rally for a fourth straight NFC South title. The Panthers are allowing a league-high 30.9 points per game, though that number has dropped a bit to 24.3 per game over their last four outings. Young's improved play has paired with the rise of veteran running back Chuba Hubbard and the emergence of rookie wideout Xavier Legette to give Carolina's 29th-ranked scoring attack some more bite in the second half of the season
The Bucs will play their first game against a division opponent since Week Eight, and it's a critical one given that first-place Atlanta has already swept the head-to-head series with Tampa Bay. Here are four major storylines and four head-to-head player battles to keep an eye on as the Bucs face Canales's crew for the first time.
TOP STORYLINES
Time to Stack – In 2020, the Buccaneers went into their bye week with a 7-5 record and came out of the break on a tear. That team never lost again, stacking eight straight wins, the last of which was Super Bowl LV. In 2021, the Bucs won six of their last seven regular season games for their first division title since 2007. In 2023, Tampa Bay rode a 1-6 skid to a 4-7 mark by Week 12 but then won five of their last six to overtake both New Orleans and Atlanta for a third straight NFC crown. None of those hard-charging sprints to the finish line guarantee anything for the 2024 Buccaneers, but they definitely provide a model for the current team to pursue. This year's squad started 3-1, just as it had the year before, then lost five of its next six, including four in a row before a Week 11 bye. The hope was that a seven-week stretch run that included six games against teams with losing records, would see the Bucs get hot again in crunch time. The first-place Falcons have a one-game lead on the Buccaneers with six weeks to go, but it is functionally a two-game cushion thanks to Atlanta's head-to-head tiebreaker. Atlanta did drop a lopsided 38-6 decision to Denver before heading into their Week 12 bye, but the Buccaneers can't be sure they can afford even a single loss if they want to overtake the Falcons by Week 18. After dispatching of the Giants in Week 12, the Buccaneers will continue to focus on one game at a time and try to record consecutive wins for the first time since the opening weeks of the season.
All Hands on Deck – The Buccaneers had an unusual combination of offensive personnel oddities in their win over the Giants. For one, they had four different players score a rushing touchdown in a single game for the first time in franchise history. In addition, they tied another franchise single-game record when 11 different players caught at least one pass, accomplishing that feat for just the fifth time in team annals. In other words, Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen and quarterback Baker Mayfield utilized just about every available weapon to get one of the league's most potent offenses back on track after a bit of a dip. The only eligible pass-catcher who did not pull in a reception (not counting defensive lineman Vita Vea cosplaying as a fullback for two snaps) against the Giants was tight end Ko Kieft. The return of Mike Evans after a three-game absence helped immensely, but he was not the team's only source of explosive plays. After going two straight games before the bye week without generating a play of 20 or more yards, the Buccaneers exploded with six of them in the Meadowlands by five different players. Evans, Cade Otton, Payne Durham, Rakim Jarrett and Bucky Irving all had catches of more than 25 yards and Irving broke off a season-long 56-yard run. The Buccaneers' offense numbers had been on a steady decline in the wake of injuries to Evans and Chris Godwin, but Coen found a way to infuse big plays into the attack again, and it took just about every option he had. The Bucs hope to continue that sort of production down the stretch by continuing to spread the ball around.
Slowing Young's Ascension – Quarterback Bryce Young was the first player chosen in the 2023 draft, and his rookie season was somewhat of a struggle, especially when mercilessly compared to the outstanding campaign mounted by the second pick in the draft, Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud. In 16 starts, Stroud completed 59.8% of his passes, threw 11 touchdowns to 10 interceptions, took 62 sacks and compiled a 73.7 passer rating. Still, the Panthers understandably went into 2024 with their young passer at the helm, hoping for better results under noted quarterback whisperer Dave Canales. However, after Young threw three interceptions and no touchdowns and passes for just 245 yards in the first two games, Canales decided to turn to veteran quarterback Andy Dalton. Dalton started five games before spraining the thumb on his throwing hand in a car accident, which opened the door for Young to return to the lineup. Since doing so, he has shown marked improvement. In his last four starts he has compiled a passer rating of 85.3, with a 5-3 TD-INT ratio and a 61.7% completion rate. Young has attacked the middle of the field more proficiently than he did in his first 18 starts and has impressed Canales with his ability to extend plays. The Buccaneers' defense just played a game against a second-year passer who was getting his second chance as a starter, and that didn't go particularly well for the Giants' Tommy DeVito. Of course, DeVito is a former undrafted free agent, not a first-overall pick, but he had enjoyed some success during a six-start stretch as a rookie. The Bucs hope to treat Young much the same way. The former Alabama star still could have a long career as a franchise quarterback in the Bucs' division, but Tampa Bay hopes to put his current ascension on hold for at least a week.
Main Takeaways – The Buccaneers played one of their most complete games of the season against the Giants in Week 12. In addition to rolling up 450 yards of offense and, as noted above, finding new ways to make explosive plays, the Bucs also held the Giants to 245 yards, much of that in garbage time in the fourth quarter. By halftime, the Giants had 45 total yards, three first downs and zero third down conversions. They also, however, had committed no turnovers. Lavonte David would eventually force a fumble in the third quarter, but that would be Tampa Bay's only takeaway of the game. Tampa Bay hasn't forced more than one turnover in a game wince Week Six against New Orleans. That was also the last time any Bucs defender secured an interception. Todd Bowles' defenses have generally been known for creating a lot of turnover opportunities, but this season the Bucs have just 13 takeaways, tied for 14th in the NFL. Like many coaches, Bowles believes that takeaways tend to happen in bunches, and indeed from Weeks Two to Six the Bucs got nine of them. Tampa Bay didn't need a lot of turnovers to beat the Giants because its offense was so efficient for three quarters, launching three touchdown drives of 82 or more yards and another 70-yarder that took 8:23 off the clock. In closer games, however, short fields for the offense could end up making the difference. The Buccaneers hope to get more takeaways, and particularly interceptions, down the stretch.
KEY MATCHUPS
- Panthers WR Xavier Legette vs. Buccaneers CB Zyon McCollum
With the trade of Diontae Johnson to the Ravens, rookie Xaiver Legette, the 32nd overall pick in this year's draft, has emerged as Carolina's top receiver. His 33 catches lead the team and he's close to passing Johnson in receiving yards. His four touchdown receptions are also a team-high, and his 56 yards on four catches last weekend against Kansas City was his second-best outing of the year. Legette made it into the bottom of the first round in April despite having just one productive college season at South Carolina, but it was easy to understand why given his combination of size, speed and run-after-the catch ability. He was just the sixth wide receiver since 2003 to weigh in at least 20 pounds and run a sub-4.4 forty at the NFL Scouting Combine. For the Panthers, Legette has run a majority of his routes on the outside, and most often on the right side of the formation. That will make him the responsibility of Zyon McCollum, who has a similar combination of size, speed and athleticism. McCollum leads the Buccaneers with 10 passes defensed and has been playing like a lock-down cornerback over the past three weeks. With the return of Jamel Dean last week, opposing quarterbacks won't find it as easy to just avoid McCollum's side of the field.
- Buccaneers G Ben Bredeson vs. Panthers DE A'Shawn Robinson
In his return to the Meadowlands to play his former team in Week 12, Ben Bredeson was a powerful part of a Buccaneers' offensive line that allowed zero sacks and two quarterback hits and blocked for a 156-yard rushing attack. An offseason addition in free agency, Bredeson has helped solidify a front line that has been the engine inside Tampa Bay's fourth-ranked scoring attack. The Buccaneers rank eighth in sacks-allowed-per-pass-play and fourth in yards per carry. Bredeson can drive defenders off the line on run plays, creating instant lanes for Buccaneer backs to exploit. The Panthers' defense is without their best defensive linemen in Derrick Brown, who is on injured reserve, but former Lion, Ram and Giant A'Shawn Robinson has played well in the middle. He is tied for the team lead in sacks with 3.0 and also has 53 tackles, five tackles for loss, five quarterback hits, one forced fumble and one pass defensed. The ninth-year defender has always been considered a very good run defender. He is 6-3 and 320 pounds and is good at holding up a blocker and then disengaging to stop a running back from getting through a hole.
- Panthers T Taylor Moton vs. Buccaneers OLB Anthony Nelson
Taylor Moton has long been the one reliable contributor on a Panthers' offensive line that has gone through a lot of iterations over the years, many of them not particularly successful. The Panthers signed guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis to large deals in free agency this offseason and are getting better overall results. Carolina ranks fifth in sack rate on offense and 10th in yards per carry. Moton is a big part of that strong pass protection. According to Pro Football Focus, the 6-5, 325-pound blocker has not been responsible for allowing a sack yet this season, and he has been hit with only one penalty flag while playing 515 offensive snaps. In Week 12, Buccaneers outside linebacker Anthony Nelson did what he has done throughout his career: Take advantage of an opportunity for more playing time. When starter Joe Tryon-Shoyinka went down with an ankle injury against the Giants, Nelson ended up playing his most defensive snaps of the season and finished with four tackles, 1.0 sack, two quarterback hits and two tackles for loss. Nelson is a tireless defender who is sound in his assignments and is able to make some impact when dropping into coverage. If Tryon-Shoyinka's ankle causes him to miss some more time, the Bucs' defense won't miss a beat with Nelson on the field.
- Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving vs. Panthers LB Josey Jewell
Bucky Irving did a little bit of everything in the Buccaneers' win over the Giants last Sunday, ending up with a career-best 151 yards from scrimmage and scoring his fifth touchdown of the season. Incredibly, 98 of those 151 yards came after contact, as he routinely broke tackles near the line of scrimmage then stacked a series of sharp cuts to find his way into the open field. He also caught six passes for a season-high 64 yards, averaging 3.8 yards on his 17 routes run, a big improvement on his 1.6-yard average heading into Week 12. For the first time this season in a game in which both he and Rachaad White played, Irving had the most snaps among the Bucs' three running backs. He leads all rookie running backs with 831 yards from scrimmage and is among the league leaders in percentage of missed tackles forced. Carolina's defense lost one of its top tacklers in Week Four when linebacker Shaq Thompson suffered a torn Achilles tendon. Josey Jewell, a 2024 offseason free agency acquisition, has stepped up in his absence, racking up 61 tackles to rank second on the Panthers' defense. He also has 1.0 sack, three tackles for loss, one interception and five passes defensed. Carolina has the NFL's most porous run defense, allowing 160.5 yards per game, which could be an opportunity for Irving and the rest of the Bucs' backs to have a big outing. However, Jewell could have a say in the matter after racking up nine tackles and a sack against the Chiefs in Week 12.
