Who’s playing
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Carolina Panthers
Current records: Tampa Bay 8-8, Carolina 2-14
How to watch
- When: Sunday, January 7, 2024 at 1 p.m. ET
- Or: Bank of America Stadium – Charlotte, North Carolina
- TV: FOX
- Follow: CBS Sports app
What there is to know
The Panthers will be in front of their home fans on Sunday, but a look at the spread shows they might need that home-field advantage. They will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Both teams suffered a loss in their last match, so they will have a lot of motivation to win the “W”.
Sunday was a slow day for Carolina as the team failed to score. Their painful 26-0 loss to the Jaguars could scar them for a while. It was the first shutout Carolina had experienced all season.
Unsurprisingly, given the score, the Panthers were plagued by a sluggish offense and finished the game with just 2.3 yards per play. That was the fewest yards per game they managed all season.
Meanwhile, after a four-game winning streak, Tampa Bay’s good fortune finally ran out on Sunday. They suffered a 23-13 blowout in the loss column at the hands of the Saints. Tampa Bay failed to live up to its potential and fell short of the advantage oddsmakers thought they had heading into the game.
This defeat does not tell the whole story, because several players had good matches. One of the most active was Baker Mayfield, who totaled 309 yards and two touchdowns.
Carolina’s loss was their ninth straight on the road, dropping their record to 2-14. This poor performance could be blamed on the team’s poor offensive performance during this span, as they averaged just 14.3 points per game. As for Tampa Bay, their loss ended a three-game home winning streak and dropped them to 8-8.
Odds
Tampa Bay is a solid 5.5-point favorite against Carolina, according to the latest NFL odds.
The plus/minus is set at 37.5 points.
Find out the NFL picks for every game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
History of the series
Tampa Bay has won 8 of its last 10 games against Carolina.
- December 3, 2023 – Tampa Bay 21 vs. Carolina 18
- January 1, 2023 – Tampa Bay 30 vs. Carolina 24
- October 23, 2022 – Carolina 21 vs. Tampa Bay 3
- January 9, 2022 – Tampa Bay 41 vs. Carolina 17
- December 26, 2021 – Tampa Bay 32 vs. Carolina 6
- November 15, 2020 – Tampa Bay 46 vs. Carolina 23
- September 20, 2020 – Tampa Bay 31 vs. Carolina 17
- October 13, 2019 – Carolina 37 vs. Tampa Bay 26
- September 12, 2019 – Tampa Bay 20 vs. Carolina 14
- December 2, 2018 – Tampa Bay 24 vs. Carolina 17
