Three weeks into the season and the Panthers are yet to lose a game. It's a sight Panthers fans haven't seen since the magical 2003 season. That season saw the Panthers start the season 5-0 before falling to the Tennessee Titans. The next step in the Panthers' journey to better that high watermark is a road match-up against the 1-2 Buccaneers.
The Buccaneers are fresh off a loss to the Houston Texans in which they only put 9 points up on the board. That is just the most recent point on what has shown to be a trend thus far. Through three games, the Bucs rank 26th in the NFL in yards per game and 29th in points per game. Those numbers have not come against the league's stingiest defenses either, as Houston is the only defense of the three that ranks in the top half of the league in opponents' yards per play. By that metric, the Panthers will be the toughest test to date for the Bucs offense,as Sean McDermott's defense ranks second in the league in that category.
For the Panthers, there are two major headlines. The first being the continued saga for superstar linebacker Luke Kuechly as he navigates the NFL concussion protocol, and the other being the injury to Charles Johnson and subsequent addition of Jared Allen.
Luke Kuechly was not seen at Panthers practice on Wednesday, implying that he is yet to be cleared by an independent neurologist. This is discouraging news, as earlier in the week it seemed like Panthers brass were confident the two time All Pro would be good to go early in the week. Hopefully the Panthers are just exercising extreme caution, but it's a situation to monitor nonetheless.
In other injury news, defensive end Charles Johnson was placed on the injured reserve list with the designated to return label. To fill the large void left by CJ, the Panthers traded for former Vikings standout Jared Allen.
With all the moving parts and injuries on the Panthers defense, a tilt with a struggling Bucs offense could be just what the doctor ordered heading into the bye week.
The Quarterback
The Buccaneers offense is headed by rookie signal caller Jameis Winston. The former Heisman Trophy winner was selected with the first overall pick with the hopes of bringing the Bucs back to relevancy. However, as is the case with many rookie quarterbacks, there have been growing pains in the early weeks of the season. Famous Jameis completed less than half of his pass attempts in two of his three outings, and has a season line of 678 yards, 4 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 52.2% completion rate, and 77.9 QB rating. Winston has also run for a score and lost a fumble.
In their first three games, the Panthers have had some struggles with quarterbacks getting the ball out quickly. That's not a trait that Winston has displayed through three games, as he has the 6th longest average time to throw among qualifying QBs. When he does get the ball out quick, he struggles to make the play; his 54.7% completion percentage on passes thrown less than 2.5 seconds after the snap is the worst among the 30 qualified QBs, and is a full 6% worse than the next lowest on the list.
The Panthers don't need to put too much pressure on the rookie to have success. Despite all his struggles with accuracy, he's actually put up middle of the road efficiency when under pressure. The bigger question will be whether or not the Panthers secondary will be in the right position to pick off errant throws by the rookie.
Panthers Secondary vs. Buccaneers Wide Receivers
None of the Bucs wide receivers have made any significant noise so far. Their top three wide receivers; Mike Evans, Vincent Jackson, and Louis Murphy; are all on pace for roughly 800 yards receiving. Evans is definitely the most talented of the bunch, but he hasn't found a consistent connection with his quarterback yet. After failing to catch any of his three targets in his debut against the Saints, Evans reeled in 7 catches for 101 yards against the Texans, but it took 17 targets to get those numbers. If any receiver is going to get the Josh Norman treatment on Sunday, it's likely Evans. Murphy and Jackson might make a little noise, but they are containable.
The Panthers have been able to limit opposing wide receivers to a great degree through three games. Cornerback Josh Norman is third among CBs who have played in 50% of their teams' snaps in passer rating against (38.8). Opposing quarterbacks are only completing 48.1% of their passes against Norman and are averaging 7.5 yards per catch on those completions. Bené Benwikere hasn't been quite as lockdown as Norman, but he's also only allowing an average reception 7.7 yards. Neither has given up a completion of more than 16 yards.
It's a secondary that has limited chunk plays from the opposition, and chunk plays have been the go-to for the Bucs passing game so far.
Edge: Panthers
Panthers Linebackers vs. Buccaneers Backs and Tight Ends
As mentioned in the lead in to this article, Luke Kuechly remains the big story in this phase of the game. If he clears protocol in time for the game, it will be a huge boost to the Panthers defense and their range in covering the middle of the field and stopping the run. The Bucs have a significant absence of their own in this department, as they'll be without tight end Austin Sefarian-Jenkins who had a huge season debut before going down to injury in game 2.
Without the hulking 2nd year pro, the Bucs are lacking weapons at the tight end position. Brandon Myers is next on the depth chart, but he's only managed 18 yards on 3 catches this season. In the passing game, the Bucs usually turn to RB Charles Sims to make plays for them underneath. The West Virginia Mountaineer has struggled as a runner, but has done some damage as a receiver, including a very impressive catch and run on a bubble screen for a 32 yard touchdown last week.
When it's time to tote the ball on the ground, the Buccaneers turn to former first round pick Doug Martin. The fourth year pro looked primed for a resurgence during the preseason, but has failed to deliver in the early parts of the season. Martin is averaging just 3.8 yards per carry and is yet to find the endzone.
The Panthers speed at linebacker should be able to neutralize any big play potential out of Charles Sims and the bruising style of Doug Martin. The tight ends have been a non factor for the Bucs this season, so they shouldn't trouble the Panthers,
Edge: Panthers
Panthers Defensive Line vs. Buccaneers Defensive Line
As is often the case with struggling offenses, the offensive line has had its share of struggles this season. Now they have injuries to deal with. Starting center Evan (No longer Dietrich) Smith missed the Texans game and is yet to practice week. His replacement, Joe Hawley struggled to hold his ground in Smith steed. In other Smith injury news, rookie starting LT Donovan Smith is dealing with an injured knee that kept him out of practice Wednesday and has his status for Sunday in doubt.
The Panthers defensive line isn't without issues of its own. With Charles Johnson hampered by a hamstring injury that has now forced him out of action completely, the Panthers line has struggled. Mario Addison and Kawann Short have been the only sources of pressure on pass plays. The Panthers looked to rectify that this week by acquiring two defensive ends, rookie Ryan Delaire and five time pro bowler Jared Allen.
Even with their struggles getting to the quarterback, the Panthers defensive line has been mostly solid at stopping the run. This match-up is a little closer, but tie goes to the writer's favorite team.
Edge: Panthers
Overall Outlook
The Panthers face their fourth weak opponent in a row. They face a tough stretch coming out of the bye, so they need this game to keep pacing the division. The Bucs struggled to score in an ugly loss to the Texans, a team the Panthers already beat, so another Panthers victory is well within reach.