CHARLOTTE, N.C. — We all saw that one coming right?
2 weeks after firing their head coach, a few days after trading away their best player, the Panthers stun the NFL world by delivering the Bucs their second consecutive loss.
The defense returned to form this week. After giving up 87 combined points in three straight losses they held Tampa Bay to just 3 points and less than 350 yards to help deliver interim head coach Steve Wilks his first win.
On the other side of the ball, the offense was able to do something they have struggled with all season, play complimentary football. They also scored more than 20 points for just the third time this season. The final touchdown on a crucial 4th quarter drive put the nail in the coffin.
The Panthers came into this game as 13-point underdogs and were fresh off of trading away Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers. The Bucs, fresh off an embarrassing effort against the Pittsburgh Steelers, were supposed to come out firing.
Both offenses struggled early with seven straight punts to start the game. The first two Panthers' drives did not result in a single first down and a 3rd down sack squashed what was a promising drive on their third possession.
The defense responded by generating their own big sack, this one on second down, as Burns drug down Tom Brady fourteen yards behind the line of scrimmage.
The offense came out and went 80 yards in just 6 plays for the only score of the first half as PJ Walker hit DJ Moore on a 20-yard dime, Moore somehow getting both feet down in the back of the endzone.
More punts for both teams to start the second half but on the Bucs' second possession they were knocking on the door of the RedZone. The Panthers' defense came up with 2 huge stops preventing Leonard Fournette from gaining a yard on 3rd and 4th down.
Then, you guessed it, more punts. But the Panthers would put more points on the board after a 60-yard run from D'onta Foreman set up a 17-yard touchdown run from Chuba Hubbard.
The Panthers carried a 14-0 lead into the third quarter but the next Bucs drive, which split between the end of the 3rd and the start of the 4th, resulted in points as the Bucs methodically drove down the field. It was the kind of drive we have seen so many times from a Tom Brady led team down late in the game. The defense was able to hold them to just a field goal but it felt like the Bucs' offense had found its rhythm.
It was extremely important for the Panther's offense to score, or at the very least take as much time off the clock to give their defense a rest. They were up to the challenge. They took four minutes off the clock and ended the drive on a terrific throw from PJ Walker to tight end Tommy Tremble in the corner of the endzone. A perfect way to celebrate national tight ends day by increasing their lead.
Brady and the Bucs' responded by driving down the field. Carolina's defense bent but did not break once again stopping Tampa Bay on 4th down. They caught a good break as Bucs tight end Cade Otton slipped on the 4th down play that led to the incompletion.
The Panthers caught another good break on a 4th down of their own on the next possession as the Bucs roughed Johnny Hekker, which gave the Panthers the first down and guaranteed a win with just too little time, and too many points, for even Tom Brady to come back from.
Now the Panthers, sitting at 2-5, are just a game out of the lead of the NFC South division and are the only team with an unbeaten record in NFC South play.
As crazy as this sounds, the Panthers' season may not be over just yet, with a wide-open NFC and a lot of season left to play.
Odds and Ends
- The Panthers ran for 179 yards on the ground, their largest total of the season so far.
- This is the first game this season with multiple passing touchdowns from a Panthers quarterback.
-The Panthers' offense once again struggled on third down, going just 4-12 on 3rd down attempts.