The Carolina Panthers welcome in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in NFL Sunday action. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start time and it will be televised live on FOX. Currently the odds for the game have the Panthers favored at home in this one by about a field goal.
Carolina picked up a huge win last week on the road over the New Orleans Saints, beating up on Sean Payton's team inside the Superdome. Now the Panthers need to find a way to pick up two straight wins as they welcome in a Tampa Bay team that is playing better overall.
The Panthers are now 4-8 on the season, winning two of those games at home. Carolina has found a way to sort of claw back into this thing, sitting only a game outside of first place in the horrendous NFC South. They'll be playing without the franchise player in Cam Newton as he was injured in a car accident earlier this week. Derek Anderson will get the start for Carolina and he should be able to guide them to a win at home.
Tampa Bay is not very good on either side of the football, but they are playing better offensively. Josh McCown has found a legitimate weapon in rookie wide receiver Mike Evans, who has 10 touchdowns on the season. Tampa Bay has not been a good team running the football this year Doug Martin has been a go-to player for the Bucs in recent seasons, but this year nothing seems to be working for them on the ground. Tampa Bay is going to have to be able to run the football in this game if they are going to hang around.
Carolina's defense is not great this season and has dealt with injuries, but they certainly played well against New Orleans. To get the same type of effort in this one would help lead them to a win. Anderson needs to minimize mistakes as well. Carolina has been able to keep the ball on the ground and even though they aren't as good as last season, they should be able to do enough in this one to get the job done.
Free Pick: Carolina 24, Tampa Bay 17
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