The Panthers are once again the big underdogs in the rematch with the Buccaneers

When the Carolina Panthers hosted the division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers a few weeks ago, they pushed them to their limits. Even though Tampa entered the game with a six-point lead, it needed a field goal in overtime to beat Carolina in a matchup that could easily have gone the other way.

Even though they made things so difficult for the Bucs last time, the oddsmakers still don’t see them as real contenders with this Tampa team. According to the first odds at DraftKings Sportsbook for next week’s away game against the Buccaneers, the Panthers are 7.5 point underdogs.

The Bucs will have home field advantage this time around and recent history is still on their side. After this most recent meeting, Tampa has now won eight of the last nine meetings between these teams.

However, it is clear that this Panthers team is very different from the ones that lost most of these games. Bryce Young is playing cleaner, they have a dominant running game and their pass rush is respectable again after a brutal start to the season.

If the Panthers could manage to perform just slightly better than completely bad against the run, they might actually have a chance at an upset. Things didn’t go that way last time out, as Bucky Irving and Rachaad White racked up 228 yards on the ground, including a 38-yard dash by White that set up the game-winning field goal. There is no staff help until at least the agency is free, so this group itself will have to find a way to improve in this department. He’s not playing with full effort, but it’s up to defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero to somehow find a solution here.

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