By: Wes Roop
It's rivalry week Panthers fam! The Buccaneers (3-4) are coming into the queen city reeling from a heartbreaking loss to the Bengals. The Panthers come into the week riding high after sweeping the floor with the league's #1 defense. The Panthers and Bucs have met 35 times, with the Panthers leading the series 22-13. The Panthers broke out the broom and swept the Bucs last season, however this year's Bucs have a bit of different feel to them offensively. Below I'm going to list in my opinion, the 3 keys for success versus the Bucs.
STICK WITH THE RUN GAME
Quarterback Cam Newton has consistently shown he can gun it out with the best. However that doesn't necessarily have to be the case this Sunday. The Buccaneers do rank 10th in yards allowed versus the rush. I don't really look into that much, since our top 3 rushers average over 4.5 yards a carry. The Bucs tote the league's best passing offense. Carolina can counter that by trusting our rushing game, sustaining long drives and keeping hot handed Fitzpatrick on the bench.
LIMIT BIG PASS PLAYS
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has been a nice fit for this Bucs vertical passing offense, mainly the deep passes. He's not afraid to take some risks downfield. Among the 32 quarterbacks with 150-plus drop backs this season, Fitzpatrick ranks #1 in big-time throw percentage (11.81). His pass catchers aren't too shabby either. Their yards per catch are pretty eye popping; Desean Jackson (22.8), OJ Howard (17.5), and Mike Evans (16.7) have been a nuisance downfield. If we can limit the chunk plays downfield, and keep everything in front of us, I think we'll be just fine.
CONTAIN JASON PIERRE-PAUL
When I look at this Bucs defense on paper, I see some talented names but no consistency. With that being said, there is one exception, Jason Pierre-Paul. JPP comes into this game with 8 sacks and 13 quarterback hits, he can bring the heat. The Panthers did an outstanding job last week against the #1 pass rush and the offensive line seems to be gelling nicely. We'll need another strong performance when JPP comes to town.
In closing, I'm really curious to see the pace the Panthers set offensively, this could be very high pace game or a game where we consistently pound the rock. Nonetheless, this has the makeup for a very competitive game. I am not betting against our Panthers at home this week.
Wes' Final Prediction:
Panthers: 27
Buccaneers: 23
As always, KEEP POUNDING Panther fam!!!
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