The Carolina Panthers are coming off a comfortable win over the Philadelphia Eagles and their backup quarterback. That makes them 2-0 against backup quarterbacks so far in this young season. Up next is the Tamp Bay Buccaneers and either another backup quarterback or their starter fresh off a dislocated throwing thumb.
The Bucs have had a season from hell so far. They carried the negative momentum they ended last season with into this season. They got a random Thursday night win over the Cowboys with Jalon
Daniels leading the charge. Otherwise, it’s been bad. They’re 1-5 and desperate for a win, or really anything to go right for them. Meanwhile, the Panthers are riding high on a two game winning streak against teams that were at least supposed to be good in the Lions and Eagles. They’ll be trying to extend their division lead. Here are the key matchups that will determine if that will happen.
Panthers interior offensive line vs Vita Vea
Vea doesn’t have a sack yet this season, and he’s only been credited with four tackles, but that doesn’t mean he’s no longer a factor along the defensive line. He’s not quite the player he used to be, but he’s still dangerous. He’s 15th in ESPN’s pass rush win rate for defensive tackles despite being double teamed on 81% of his pass rushing snaps. Robert Hunt has struggled this year, Damien Lewis is playing through his elbow injury, and Luke Fortner is Luke Fortner. They’re going to have their hands full with Vea, and they need to keep him contained so he doesn’t kill Bryce Young.
Bryce Young vs Alex Anzalone
The Buccaneers gave Anzalone a decent amount of money to step in for the retired Lavonte David as both the team’s defensive leader and coverage presence in the middle of the field. He has not lived up to the second part of that. He’s currently ranked dead last by Pro Football Focus among 75 linebackers that qualify. He’s been a huge liability in coverage and seems to have lost multiple steps in his age 32 season. The Panthers have found success in the middle of the field, particularly on RPO throws to Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker. Given Anzalone’s struggles this year, those short passes in the middle of the field can turn into big chunk plays if the Panthers can continue to execute them with the same success they’ve had so far this year.
Bobby Okereke and Devin Lloyd vs Bucky Irving
Irving has been just about the only skill position player to have any sort of success for the Bucs this season. He’s averaging 4.7 yards per carry this season and showed how explosive he could be with 165 yards against the Cowboys while looking like vintage LeSean McCoy. If he gets into space, he’s one of the more slippery backs in the league. It’ll be on the Panthers linebackers to clog up his running lanes and prevent him from breaking into space where he can slip tackles and rip off long runs.
Baker Mayfield vs his thumb
Todd Bowles announced that Baker Mayfield will return to practice this week with eyes on returning to game action against the Panthers this weekend. We’re right at the beginning of Mayfield’s projected recovery timeline, so making it back for this game would be very aggressive. But like I said at the top, the Bucs are desperate, and that might lead them to go back to Baker, even if it’s a risky play. If Mayfield does play, you’d have to assume there will be some degradation in how well he can grip the ball. That gives the Panthers defense some extra opportunities to hunt turnovers, whether it be airmailed passes or strip sacks.
