The Panthers fought hard for the second straight week but were once again unable to come away with a victory as they fell to 0-2 on the young 2020 season with their loss to the Buccaneers. The Bucs jumped out to a 21-0 start but the Panthers fought hard to make the game a respectable result, even if the final score indicates otherwise.
The Panthers’ offense had a bad day today — especially quarterback Teddy Bridgewater — and the defense was unable to stop the Bucs from running the football when it mattered the most, which ultimately confirmed the Panthers’ demise.
There were some positives from today’s game, though. The Panthers fought hard and had a chance to win the game in the second half, but were unable to recover an onside kick when the score was 24-17 with two minutes left. The Fournette touchdown sealed their fate, but they showed a lot of heart out there and didn’t roll over and quit when a lot of teams probably would have.
The Bucs scored 17 points off Teddy Bridgewater turnovers (two interceptions, one fumble) which ended up being the difference between the two teams in this one. Hopefully the Panthers can tighten up their hold on the ball when they’re on offense, and hopefully the defense can prevent critical mistakes as they gel together.
The Panthers are now 0-2 and have a tough task next week when they travel west to take on the Chargers, but hopefully we’ll continue to see the team fight hard, and maybe some of these negatives will finally turn into positives for a change.
Fourth quarter: Panthers 17 - Buccaneers 31
The first big play of the quarter was a huge fourth-and-2 situation inside the red zone. Carolina lined up and took advantage of the Bucs defense by pitching it to McCaffrey, who took it to the end zone to bring the Panthers to within a touchdown. The extra point was good and the Panthers were down 21-14 with plenty of time left in the game to make it interesting.
The defense made a big stop on third down to give the offense the ball back with a chance to tie the game with 12 minutes left to play. Corn Elder made a huge pass breakup on third down to set the Panthers up with a chance to do something.
The Panthers had something going after a 39-yard pass to Robby Anderson, but then Teddy Bridgewater threw another interception a few plays later to kill the drive and prevent the Panthers from tying the game at 21.
The Bucs took advantage of the Panthers’ misfortune and tacked three points to their total and extended their lead to 10 points.
The Panthers fought back and brought the game to within a touchdown at the two minute warning. They tried an onside kick that was recovered by the Bucs, and then Leonard Fournette scampered untouched into the end zone to seal the victory for the Bucs.
Third quarter: Panthers 7 - Buccaneers 21
The Panthers started on offense but after a few plays Robby Anderson fumbled and the Bucs recovered, but on the very next play Tom Brady threw an interception to Donte Jackson and the Panthers got the ball back.
The Panthers took advantage of the turnover by putting together their first scoring drive of the day. The drive ended when Christian McCaffrey pounded into the end zone from one yard out thanks to defensive pass interference on the previous play that gave Carolina first-and-goal from the TB 1-yard line. The extra point was good and the Panthers finally found the scoreboard to make it 21-7.
The Panthers played well on defense and have been driving to try and pull to within a touchdown, but time ran out on the quarter before they could do so.
Second quarter: Panthers 0 - Buccaneers 21
The Bucs continued their drive by picking up chunks of yards, but the Panthers defense took advantage of a fumble by Ronald Jones near midfield to keep the game from getting out of hand. Woodrow Hamilton recovered the fumble for Carolina.
The Panthers were unable to get much going on their drive, but they did try to keep it exciting by going for a fake punt on fourth-and-3. They couldn’t pick up the first down, but hey... at least they tried something.
The Bucs tried a flea flicker and gained a huge chunk of yards (and would have had a touchdown if Brady didn’t underthrow the receiver), but eventually found their way into the end zone thanks to a Leonard Fournette 1-yard run. The extra point was good and the Bucs added to their lead to make it 21-0.
The Panthers got the ball back with less than a minute left in the quarter, but were unable to put anything together and go into halftime down by three touchdowns. The bright side is the Panthers start the second half on offense. (Well, maybe it’s not a bright side based on how this game has gone.)
First quarter: Panthers 0 - Buccaneers 14
The Panthers started the game on defense and did a good job forcing the Bucs to start their day with a three-and-out. The offense started out with a decent drive that made it inside the TB 25-yard line, but unfortunately Teddy Bridgewater threw a terrible screen pass that was picked off by the Bucs defense to cut the drive short.
The defense gave up chunks of yards to the Bucs but managed to hold them on third down at their own 25-yard line, but a late hit penalty on Derrick Brown gave the Bucs an automatic first down to allow the drive to continue. On the very next play, Ronald Jones scampered untouched into the end zone to give the Bucs a 7-0 lead.
Teddy Bridgewater fumbled on the second snap of the Panthers’ drive. The Bucs recovered the fumble and went back on offense. Their drive was one play — a Tom Brady touchdown pass to Mike Evans to double the Bucs lead at 14-0.
The Panthers were unable to generate enough offense to get in scoring range and had to give the ball back to the Bucs with 1:17 left in the quarter. The special teams unit did a good job to prevent a punt return, however, which was probably the highlight of the quarter and says all you need to know about how the first quarter went for the Panthers.
The Panthers and Buccaneers are expected to kick off at 1 p.m. ET, so stay tuned for a rolling update that will be published at the conclusion of each quarter, and will eventually morph into the final game recap once the final whistle has sounded.
Note: Comments for this thread will not be activated until after the game has concluded. To discuss the game while it’s in progress, please use the live game thread.
The Panthers hit the road for the first time this season when they travel down south to face Tom Brady and the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. on Sunday, September 20 at 1 p.m. ET.
Game day information
What: Carolina Panthers vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
When: Sunday, September 20 at 1 p.m. ET
Where: Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Fla.)
TV: FOX; Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth (coverage map)
Streaming: FuboTV, FOX Sports Live (tv login req.), Yahoo! Sports, Panthers mobile app
Radio: Panthers radio (local); Mick Mixon
Spanish Radio: Panthers radio (local); Jaime Moreno, Antonio Ramos
Weather: 84° / PM T’storms / 15 mph NNE wind / 40% rain (complete forecast)