The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost their second straight game to a sub .500 opponent on Sunday. This time, they fell to the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte. The offense once again did not look in sync and it is a tad bit more concerning than last week’s game against Pittsburgh. The Bucs only put three points up on the scoreboard.
Bucs’ Offense was Non-Existent
Although the Panthers struggled on third downs with PJ Walker starting as the quarterback, Tampa Bay somehow looked worse converting just a small 2-12 of them. The inability to keep drives going severely hurt Tampa Bay’s chances.
Running back Leonard Fournette, who has seemed to be the bright spot in this perplexed offense, was shut down from the start. The Buccaneers averaged only three yards a run. Fournette finished with a two-yard average on runs as he had 19 yards on eight carries. Tampa Bay could have looked to him more as the game went on to try to break through for a big play, especially with the receivers having off games all around.
Fellow running back Rachaad White finished with 24 yards on six carries. He also broke off a long 11-yard run late in the first quarter. He also could not find holes in the Panthers defense that shut the Bucs offense down.
Tom Brady finished with 290 yards and threw 49 times which meant Tampa Bay was once again living or dying by the passing game.
Despite having an excellent game with 96 yards, Mike Evans had a crucial drop on the first drive of the game. He had the Panthers secondary beat deep and had a rare miscue to force the Bucs to punt. It would have been a long touchdown. Chris Godwin was targeted 13 times and caught seven of them for 43 yards. Tight end Cade Otton had 64 yards on four receptions and had a long 35-yard completion.
Evans on the offense’s outing in Charlotte: “We made some plays here and there, but when we needed plays the most we didn’t make them.”
Panthers Had Something to Prove after Eventful Week
Panthers Linebacker Shaq Thompson had seven tackles as he was able to meet Fournette and White at the line of scrimmage early and often. Brian Burns, who seems to be Carolina’s franchise player following the trade of Christian McCaffrey, had five tackles and got to Brady once for a sack.
Carolina interim head coach Steve Wilks went with PJ Walker as the starting quarterback. Walker had 177 yards and two touchdowns to wide receiver DJ Moore and tight end Tommy Tremble. Moore also finished with 69 yards on the day.
The real surprise for the Panthers was running back D’Onta Foreman who had 118 yards on the ground. His big play ability was a catalyst for Carolina’s offense in the victory and ultimately led to a Chuba Hubbard touchdown to make the game 14-0. Hubbard had a great game as well with 63 yards.
Up Next
The Buccaneers fall below .500 now at 3-4 on the season following this loss. Their next opponent will be the Baltimore Ravens back in Tampa on Thursday night at Raymond James Stadium. Kickoff is at 8:15 p.m. E.T.