The Carolina Panthers take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, October 13, 2019, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. This is the second meeting between these two teams this season. Tampa Bay defeated Carolina 20-14 last September 12, 2019.
The Carolina Panthers’ season looked over when they were 0-2 and Cam Newton went down with an injury. But alas, the team has been 3-0 since losing their starting QB as back-up QB Kyle Allen has given this team a new lease on life. The Panthers have scored 86 points with Allen calling the plays as compared to 41 in the first two games when he was on the bench.
In their last game, the Panthers defeated the Jaguars 31-24 behind three touchdown catches and 237 scrimmage yards from running back Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey has netted at least 175 yards from scrimmage in four of his first five games played to tie a record held by Jim Brown.
With McCaffrey leading the way, Carolina is ranked 4th in the league in rushing yards with an average of 143.6 per game. Their passing game is 23rd overall at 226.4 yards per contest. The Panthers are scoring 25.8 points per game, which puts them in 11th spot. Carolina is allowing its opponents to score 21.4 points per game this season.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have alternated losses and wins this season so after five games played, the Bucs are 2-3. The Bucs scored a big upset win over the Los Angeles Rams two weeks ago but are coming off a 24-31 loss against the New Orleans Saints in their last assignment.
The Tampa Bay defense that entered the game ranked second to last in defending the pass failed miserably against New Orleans back-up QB Terry Bridgewater. The veteran signal-caller passed for 314 yards with four touchdowns to lead the Saints. Jameis Winston had a decent outing with 204 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Chris Godwin caught seven passes for 125 yards with two touchdowns.
The Buccaneers rank 12th in passing yards at 250.4 per game. They are also 19th in the rushing department with an average of 109.4 per outing. Tampa Bay is conceding 29.6 points per game and they are ranked 5th in the NFL in scoring at an average of 29.2 points per contest.
Who Wins?
Carolina is 4-9 SU in their last 13 games played and the Panthers are also 4-9 SU in their last 13 games played on the road and 2-7 SU in their last nine games against the NFC Conference. Tampa Bay is 2-7 SU in their last nine games played. The Buccaneers are 1-4 SU in their last five games played at home and 2-6 SU in their last 8 games played against NFC Conference opponents. Head to head, the Panthers are 6-4 SU in their last 10 meetings.
The Bucs looked like legit contenders for the NFC South Division when they upset the Los Angeles Rams two weeks ago. However, their defense faltered against the New Orleans Saints as they allowed Terry Bridgewater to go off with four touchdowns and 314 passing yards. I think Tampa Bay will try to focus on defense here and have some success. But because the Tampa Bay offense is having problems with injuries to offensive lineman Alex Cappa and Demar Dotson. With the Carolina pass rush that ranks second in the NFL with 20 sacks so far this season, points are going to come hard for Tampa Bay. I’m picking the Carolina Panthers to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on 10/13/19. Prediction: Carolina Panthers
Other Bets To Make
The Panthers are 4-2 ATS in their last six games played. Carolina is 2-0 ATS in two road games played this season. The Buccaneers are 2-3 ATS in five games played this season. Tampa Bay is 0-2 ATS in their two home games played so far this season. Head to head, the Bucs are 3-1 ATS in their last four meetings but the Panthers are 5-1 ATS in their last five road games in Tampa Bay.
Panthers
-2 (-110)
Buccaneers
+2 (-110)
Odds from TitanBet as of 10/09/19
The Panthers have outscored the Buccaneers by an average of 5.8 points per game in their last 10 meetings. Tampa Bay is hurting with their offensive line and may bleed for points here. I like the Panthers to win this by at least a field goal. Carolina is 5-1 ATS in their last six games before a bye week while Tampa Bay is 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games before a bye. Prediction: Panthers -2
The total has gone over in four out of the last six games played by the Panthers. The under is 4-1 in Carolina’s last five games against the NFC South Division and the total has gone over in 8 out of their last 12 games played in October. The total has gone over in four out of the last six games played by the Buccaneers. The over is 6-3 in Tampa Bay’s last nine games against the NFC South Division and the over is also 5-0 in their last five games played in October. Head to head, the under is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings between these two teams.
Over
47 -110
Under
47 -110
Odds from TitanBet as of 10/09/19
These teams have combined for 41.4 points per game in their last 10 games played and 48.33 points per game in their last three meetings. The Panthers have gone over the 47 point total in three of their five games this season while the Buccaneers have done the same in all but one of their first five games played this season. However, because Tampa Bay is nursing injuries, I don’t see their offense going off here. The Panthers will try to ride the hot start of Christian McCaffrey but the Bucs have the 2nd best run defense in the league so that could be a problem for Carolina. I expect a low scoring game here. Prediction: Under 47