Bucs Dominated By Panthers In Disgusting 21-3 Loss

Carolina eventually had to punt, which was the second of four straight punts between the two teams to start the game. In fact, the two teams played to a scoreless first quarter despite the Bucs outgaining the Panthers 79-18 with five first downs to zero.

The Bucs opened up the second quarter with a miss on 3rd & 8, leading to Jake Camarda’s third punt of the game. Carolina’s offense picked up its first first down of the day on its ensuing possession, thanks to three straight runs by Chuba Hubbard. A big 20-yard completion from P.J. Walker to Marshall on 3rd & 5 got the drive near midfield, but just when the offense got rolling, Vita Vea picked up a third-down sack to push the home team out of field goal range.

The Bucs got moving a bit more on offense to start the next drive, but Brian Burns then beat Donovan Smith to sack Brady for a loss of 14 to set up a 3rd & 24. From there, the drive went nowhere, which led to yet another Camarda punt at the 3:16 mark in the second quarter.

Carolina hit on a couple of big plays on their next possession, putting them in position to take the lead before halftime. Walker found D.J. Moore for a 21-yard gain to start the drive, then a quick pass to D’Onta Foreman picked up another 23 yards. The Panthers then became the first team to enter the red zone on the day as Walker hit Marshall for an 11-yard gain. And on the next play, Walker connected with Moore for a 20-yard touchdown. With 29 seconds left before halftime, the Bucs trailed 7-0.

Coming out of halftime, the Panthers quickly went three-and-out. The Buccaneer offense then went to work and looked to finally find some rhythm, with Evans getting involved with a couple of big catches. But once the drive got to 2nd & 1 at the Carolina 25-yard line, Tampa Bay went nowhere. Brady threw incomplete for Rachaad White, then Leonard Fournette got stuffed on consecutive plays to turn the ball over on downs.

After the two teams traded punts, the Panthers moved to put the game away. Foreman ran through the Bucs’ defense for a 60-yard gain before Hubbard found space for a 17-yard touchdown run to put Carolina up 14-0 with just over three minutes left in the third quarter.

With their backs against the wall, the Bucs needed points. And they moved the ball once again, with 20-yard catches by Evans and Cade Otton sparking the drive. A 4th-&-2 conversion then set up 1st & Goal for the offense at the 8-yard line, but three straight Brady incompletions forced a field goal try. Ryan Succop connected from 27 yards out to cut the deficit to 14-3 with 13:38 left in the game, but it was hardly encouraging for Tampa Bay.

Carolina continued to run through Todd Bowles’ defense on the next possession. A 13-yard run by Hubbard and a 27-yarder by Foreman got the Panthers inside the 30. Three plays later, the home team broke the game open. Tommy Tremble beat rookie Zyon McCollum for a 29-yard touchdown, putting the 1-5 Panthers up 21-3 with 9:33 left in the game.

What little hope the Bucs had left rested on their next drive. It got off to a good start, with Rachaad White returning the kickoff for 31 yards. Brady then hit Otton for a 36-yard gain, but the possession died from there. Tampa Bay missed on 4th & 8 from the Carolina 28, and that was pretty much the end of it.

Brady finished the day 32-of-49 for 290 yards. His No. 1 target was Evans, who caught nine of his 15 targets for 96 yards. Otton hauled in four of his five targets for 64 yards, while Chris Godwin totaled 43 yards while catching just seven of his 13 targets. Tampa Bay managed 314 yards, but went 2-of-12 on third down and 1-of-3 on fourth. Defensively, the Bucs weren’t much better. Walker completed 16 of his 22 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns, while Foreman ran for 118 yards on 15 carries. The Bucs allowed 6.9 yards per play and managed just one sack on the day.

Now 3-4, the Bucs will now turn their attention to preparing for the Ravens, who come to town on a short week for Thursday Night Football. Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m.