13 punts for 4 scores, Tampa Bay was manhandled by an opponent in full reconstruction.
Carolina Panthers (2-5) – Tampa Bay (3-4): 21-3
No Christian McCaffrey, no Robbie Anderson, no problems for a Carolina team win.
The first half didn’t offer much from an attacking point of view. The abortive desires for long games at the start of the match are gradually transformed into quick and short actions but which find their limit quite quickly. The meeting begins with 7 punts in a row. Carolina finds the fault first and Tampa Bay is unable to react.
The second period sees six sterile sets before the game resumes. To everyone’s surprise, Carolina widened the gap, and Tampa Bay did its best to hang on. In vain. The red attack is sterile, the defense disintegrates gradually, nothing helps. The Panthers conclude a prestigious victory while the Buccaneers sink into doubt.
No opening
The meeting starts with a festival of long missed passes. When Mike Evans (96 yards) releases a touchdown all done, Terrace Marshall (31 yards) fails to secure the leather. The punts are linked on both sides. The teams choose to play short and fast, yet the offensive squads always end up stalling, the series are shortened, and the score does not evolve. It was not until the last two minutes of the first period that a sparkling DJ Moore (69 yards, 1 TD) was alerted in the back of the in-goal by PJ Walker (16/22, 177 yards, 2 TD ) to unlock the match counter. 7-0 back in the locker room.
Carolina has the advantage
The second period does not open under better auspices. Attempts at deep play find no takers, and teams are reduced to scratching what they can. The sequence of punts resumes. Tampa Bay comes to try a fourth attempt on the 25 opposing yards by Leonard Fournette (19 yards) which fails, the status quo is extended. It’s D’Onta Foreman (118 yards) who wakes up the stadium when he escapes for 61 yards before Chuba Hubbard (63 yards, 1 TD) passes the paint (14-0).
Tom Brady’s men (32/49, 290 yards) are at the bottom of the hole, nothing is going well. As an act of desperation, arrived on the 8 yards, Tampa Bay must settle for 3 points. Then watch Foreman rip his cover, then let Tommy Tremble (29 yards, 1 TD) overflow and score in the corner (21-3). The Buccaneers are completely helpless, and make fatal mistakes like hitting the opposing punter to give the ball back to Carolina. Completely demoralized, the Buccaneers let slip the last minutes, aware that they can do nothing against a division opponent who has lost two of his main weapons. Is it time to sound the alarm in Florida?
