Listen Live
CLOSE
NFL: DEC 19 Saints at Buccaneers

Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty

 

The Carolina Panthers have their work cut out for them on Sunday, as they will host the defending Super Bowl champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their home finale of the 2021 season. Tampa is coming off a 9-0 loss to division rival, the New Orleans Saints on Sunday Night Football, but are 10-4, and still in the hunt for the #1 seed in the NFC. Meanwhile, the Panthers limp in with a 5-9 record, having lost 9 of their last 11 games. On Sunday the Panthers are going to use both Cam Newton and Sam Darnold, at the QB spot, as ever since October, Carolina has suffered injuries and inconsistent play at the sport’s most important position. That doesn’t bode well for their upcoming game, as Tampa has one of the better defensive units in the NFL. To find out what makes the Tampa defense so good, Anthony Becht joined Wilson & Norfleet earlier today, and offered this take:

“They play with intense speed, and they get to the football. They really do pursue to the ball very quickly. In those down and distances (situations) when they need to put pressure on the quarterback, to speed the process up they can do that. “

 

That doesn’t bode well for an offensive line that has struggled all season long to keep their quarterbacks clean in the pocket or establish any dominance in the run game. Even with this game being in Bank of America Stadium, it is going to take the best effort of the season to stay competitive with the Bucs, let alone earn a much needed win on Sunday.