Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers Preview (10/23/2022): Betting Odds, Prediction, Depth Chart

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers head to North Carolina haunted by rumors of Brady’s divorce and just a couple weeks removed from the Panthers firing of head coach Matt Rhule. Talk about two teams free of distractions. Can Brady and the Bucs rebound from their surprise loss to the Steelers? Or will the Panthers find a way to rally behind interim coach Steve Wilks? Let’s check out the depth charts, injuries, and key matchups to predict the outcome of this game.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Vs. Carolina Panthers Betting Odds

The Buccaneers are favored by -10 over the Panthers +10, the largest spread of the week. Considering that the Panthers are heading towards a full rebuild, it makes sense the Super Bowl Champs from two years ago are heavy favorites. The over/under is set at a low 40, suggesting Vegas has little faith in these two offenses to put points on the board.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Vs. Carolina Panthers Prediction

The Bucs have not looked like themselves all season, and their early season struggles came to a head when they lost to the 2-4 Steelers 20-18. This was the first time Tom Brady lost to a rookie quarterback since 2014, and the loss had HC Todd Bowles calling out his team for ‘living off their Super Bowl win’ rather than getting better. Despite having the GOAT Tom Brady at the helm, the Bucs have only scored more than 21 points once this season. It’s hard to imagine them improving much while TE Cameron Brate and WR Chris Godwin are still recovering from injuries.

Even with the Bucs looking poor, they do not compare to the dumpster fire that is the Panthers. The Bucs troubles pail in comparison to Carolina’s, who many power rankings have listed as the worst team in the league. They fired HC Matt Rhule and owner David Tepper looks ready to blow up the roster and start over. They traded their top two WRs in D.J. Moore and Robbie Anderson, and superstar RB Christian McCaffrey is on the trade block. To top it all off, all three of the Panthers QBs are on the injury report. Though the Panthers defense has played decently compared to the offense, it’s still ranked in the bottom half of the league in most metrics. Key pieces like CB Jaycee Horn and S Jeremy Chinn are working through injuries. Fielding a full team on Sunday would be a success for the Panthers at this point.

I’m picking the Bucs to beat a weak Panthers team in a “get back on track” game. The Panthers have question marks all over the field and will have to undergo a serious rebuild before they can pose a real challenge to the Bucs.

Prediction: Bucs 27-10, Under hits

Betting Trends

• Buccaneers are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 road games
• Panthers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 vs. NFC South

Key Injuries

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Injuries: Mike Edwards (Q), Sean Murphy-Bunting (Q), Julio Jones (Q), Akiem Hicks (Q), Logan Ryan (Q), Cameron Brate (Q)

Carolina Panthers Injuries: Baker Mayfield (Q), Frankie Luvu (Q), Jaycee Horn (Q), P.J. Walker (Q),
Laviska Shenault Jr. (Q), Sam Darnold (Q), Donte Jackson (Q), C.J. Henderson (Q), Cory Littleton (Q)

Key Matchups

Check out the key matchups and mismatches for Tampa Bay vs Carolina below.

Panthers Offensive Line vs the Bucs Defensive Front

Since the Panthers are in the process of shipping their best players away and have many questions about who will start at quarterback this week, the team will have to rely extra on their offensive line to protect whoever’s under center. Unfortunately for the Panthers, they have a tough matchup versus the Bucs defensive front who is third in total sacks with 21. The Panthers offensive line is currently tied for 7th in sacks allowed, so look for LB Devin White, LB Shaq Barrett, and DT Vita Tea, three of the best at taking down the QB on the Bucs, to take advantage of the Panthers weak pass protection.

Bucs Run Offense vs Panthers Run Defense

Both the Bucs run offense and Panthers run defense have underwhelmed this year. The Bucs have the worst run offense in terms of yards per game, only averaging 67.5 yards per game. Meanwhile, the Panthers have the 26th best run defense in the league, giving up 133.3 yards per game. Whichever of these units can play better will help control the flow of the game and keep the other team off the field. If the Bucs gain a lead, this would be a great game for them to get their run game going.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Depth Chart

QB: Tom Brady
RB1: Leonard Fournette
RB2: Rachaad White
LWR: Mike Evans
RWR: Chris Godwin
SWR: Russell Gage
TE1: Cameron Brate

Carolina Panthers Depth Chart

QB: Baker Mayfield
RB1: Christian McCaffrey
RB2: D’Onta Foreman
LWR: D.J. Moore
RWR: Robbie Anderson
SWR: Shi Smith
TE1: Ian Thomas