Sunday will mark the most important outing for the Carolina Panthers in quite some time. Heck, it’s essentially a playoff game.
So, as we head into this weighty NFC South battle, let’s go through the biggest storylines for Week 17’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Born Identity
After almost three seasons without a discernible direction on offense, these Panthers have finally spawned an identity. Keep grounding and keep pounding, baby!
Carolina has lived and died by the run, which couldn’t be more evident over the past four weeks of play. In their three wins, they averaged 242.7 yards over 45 attempts—with their record-breaking masterpiece coming just last Saturday against the Detroit Lions. In their loss, at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers, they were stuffed for 21 yards on 16 carries—a performance where the offense ran around like a chicken with its head cut off.
If the Panthers are to win this game—or any other one, for that matter—they’ll need to succeed on the ground. And luckily, the Buccaneers defense isn’t as stingy against opposing rushers as they’ve usually been—ranking 17th in total run defense (120.3 yards allowed per game) while allowing the seventh-highest average of yards per carry (4.5).
But if Carolina can’t establish the run, can quarterback Sam Darnold continue to move his men? His 104.3 passer rating is the fifth-best in the league since he took over in Week 12 and he, amazingly enough, has not committed a single turnover.
Horn Supremacy
There’s no doubt the Carolina defense is on another level of legitimacy when Jaycee Horn is on the field. But, unfortunately for the unit, he won’t be on the field Sunday.
Before entering Week 16, where he exited with a broken right wrist, Horn had had allowed the fewest receptions (23), the fewest receiving yards (216) and the lowest passer rating (39.4) amongst all starting corners. Now, they’ll have to face a Tom Brady-led offense with CJ Henderson, Keith Taylor Jr., safety Sam Franklin and a little bit of Josh Norman filling in the blanks on coverage.
Luckily for that defense, though, this is not the typical Tom Brady-led offense. Tampa Bay has been riding the struggle bus almost all season, as they haven’t hit the 24-point mark since Week 4.
So even without one of their best defenders, can the Panthers keep these Bucs down—similarly to how they did in Week 7?
Forlorn Ultimatum
For all intents and purposes, this is a playoff game for the Panthers. Because if they lose, it’s all over.
A loss clinches the NFC South for Tampa Bay—plain and simple. A win would move Carolina into a tie record-wise at 7-9, but push them past the Bucs with a tie-breaking 4-1 division mark.
After that, the Panthers would simply have to win their Week 18 meeting with the New Orleans Saints or get an Atlanta Falcons win over these Bucs to capture the crown.
But, as interim head coach Steve Wilks has preached, it’s all about winning the day—so no need to look past this one just yet.
