The Carolina Panthers’ perfect season is over. The NFC leaders fell prey to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, as they suffered their first regular season loss since last November. The Panthers will look to bounce back before the playoffs begin as they end their regular season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have fallen some way from their status as possible wild-card contenders just a few weeks ago.
Read on below for our complete preview of this season-ending NFC South showdown. Meanwhile, check out more top Week 17 action with our previews of the Titans vs. Colts and Patriots vs. Dolphins.
[sc:Football ]Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers Preview
Where: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
When: Sunday, January 3, 1:00 PM ET
Line: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+10.5) at Carolina Panthers (-10.5); total 47.0 – view all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: FOX
Betting on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-9)
Just a few weeks ago, Tampa Bay still had dreams of a possible playoff berth in the NFC. Well, even a chance of finishing at .500 is gone for the Bucs after suffering a three-game losing skid to the Saints, Rams and most recently, the Bears.
[sc:NFL250 ]Jameis Winston has had an excellent rookie season, as he has broken multiple Bucs rookie passing records. However, he’s thrown four picks in his last five games, and has shown he’s still got a long way to go in terms of his ability to consistently win games.
The Panthers defense, though, has shown signs of weakness over the last few weeks and Winston has the weapons in Mike Evans, Doug Martin and Charles Sims to pull off a win in the season finale.
Martin rushed for 106 yards on 20 carries with a touchdown against the Panthers in Tampa Bay earlier this year. Meanwhile, Sims had a receiving TD in that game, and had 117 total yards from scrimmage with another receiving score on Sunday against Chicago.
The Bucs defense – 22nd in scoring defense (25.2 points allowed per game) and 18th in DVOA – is nothing special, but it did manage to hold the Panthers to a season-low 244 yards of total offense.
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Betting on the Carolina Panthers (14-1)
It had to end sometime. The Panthers’ quest for perfection came to an untimely end on Sunday at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons. Cam Newton was held without a touchdown, while the Panthers offense as a whole was limited to only 268 total yards and scored a season-low 13 points.
The warning signs were there for the Panthers, particularly on defense. They gave up 38 points in a win over New Orleans and allowed the Giants to come back from 28 points down to tie the game. Against the Falcons, Julio Jones erupted for 178 receiving yards, the most an opposing receiver has had against Carolina since Atlanta’s Roddy White had 150 yards in 2012.
With the quest for a historic perfect season now off the table, the question for the Panthers now is whether they’ll start to rest their starters in preparation for the playoffs.
The Panthers, though, still haven’t secured the No. 1 seed – and home-field advantage – in the NFC, and likely don’t want to enter the postseason on a two-game losing skid, which makes their chances of going all-out against the Bucs pretty likely.
Cam Newton was limited to a season-low 124 passing yards by the Bucs in their first meeting this season, but he still threw for two touchdowns and was helped by a defense that picked Winston off four times. Look for Newton to take his frustrations of losing that perfect season out on an overmatched Bucs team.
Carolina hasn’t had too much trouble dealing with Tampa Bay in recent years. Since drafting Newton in 2011, the Panthers have gone 7-2 (6-3 ATS) against the Bucs, and are 5-0 (4-1 ATS) in the last five meetings. Moreover, the Panthers are 10-0 SU (6-4 ATS) in their last 10 home games dating back to last season.
Writer’s Prediction
The Panthers (-10.5) end the regular season on a positive note as they beat the Bucs, 31-17.
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