The Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will do battle across the pond in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, kicking off the Week 6 slate in London.
The Panthers lead the all-time series between the two teams 23-15, but the Buccaneers won the last game, a Week 2 victory over the Panthers 20-14. The Panthers come into the matchup 3-2, while Tampa Bay is 2-3 on the season. Tampa Bay is slightly favored to win the game according to the ESPN Football Power Index, with a 55.1 percent win probability.
Carolina enters this game with a 34-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars last week. Quarterback Kyle Allen has completed 60 of 90 completed passes for 674 yards, five touchdowns and a rating of 107.3. Christian McCaffrey has 105 carries for 587 yards and six touchdowns, while DJ Moore has recorded 26 receptions for 352 yards and one touchdown so far this season.
On the defensive side Mario Addison leads the team with six and a half sacks, and Donte Jackson has recorded two interceptions. Rookie kicker Joey Slye has hit 13/14 PAT and 10/13 field goal attempts.
Allen passed for 181 yards and a touchdown last week for an 85.6 rating and is the first quarterback to have zero interceptions and go 4-0 in his first four career starts in the Super Bowl era. Allen also has at least two pass touchdowns and a 110-plus rating in two of his three road starts.
McCaffrey tied his career-high stats in the game against Jacksonville. He recorded 176 rush yards, 61 receiving yards, two rushing touchdowns, and a receiving touchdown. McCaffrey joined Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas as the only two players with 500-plus rushing yards and 250-plus receiving yards in the team’s first five games. McCaffrey has posted 371 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns in the past three games versus Tampa Bay.
Moore posted six catches for a team-high 91 yards against the Jaguars last week and had nine catches for 89 yards in the Week 2 matchup between the two teams. Moore is aiming for his third game in a row vs a divisional opponent with 80-plus receiving yards. Curtis Samuel had posted a receiving touchdown in the last two of his three games on the road and is going for his third game in a row against Tampa Bay with five or more catches and 85-plus receiving yards. Greg Olsen posted six catches for 110 yards in the prior game between the two teams.
On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Luke Kuechly had the team-high 12 tackles and a pass deflection last week against Jacksonville and recorded 18 tackles in the last meeting between the two teams. Kuechly has led the NFL since 2012 in tackles with 1004. Mario Addison had a sack and a forced fumble last week, has recorded seven sacks in the past six games against Tampa Bay and is aiming for his fourth game in a row with at least one sack. Linebacker Brian Burns posted one sack, a forced fumble, and a 53-yard fumble reception touchdown last weeks against Jacksonville and leads all NFC rookies in sacks with three and a half. This will be defensive end Gerald McCoy’s second game against his former team in which he had 54.5 sacks in nine seasons with the Buccaneers.
Tampa Bay comes into Week 6 after a 31-24 loss on the road against the New Orleans Saints last week. The Buccaneers have averaged 359.8 offensive yards and posted an average of 393.4 defensive yards allowed this season. Jameis Winston has completed 102 completed passes out of 166 attempts for 1371 yards, 11 touchdowns, and a rating of 97.2. Ronald Jones leads the team in rushing so far this season with 59 carries for 269 yards and a touchdown, while Chris Godwin has recorded 33 receptions for 511 yards and six touchdowns.
Shaquil Barrett leads the team with nine sacks on the season and there are many players tied with one interception each. Rookie kicker Matt Gay has kicked 15/17 PAT and 10/12 field goals this season.
Winston posted 204 pass yards and two touchdowns last week against New Orleans for a rating of 104.6. Winston has a 100-plus rating in five of his past six games versus an NFC South opponent and is aiming for a 100-plus rated game in his fourth straight against Carolina, and his fifth in a row overall. In the last three games versus the Panthers, Winston has recorded 824 pass yards, four touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a 118.1 rating.
Running back Peyton Barber posted 82 rush yards and a touchdown Week 2 and is going for his third game in a row against Carolina in which he scores at least one rush touchdown, while Jones has posted 70-plus rush yards in the last three out of five games.
Wide receiver Chris Godwin posted an impressive seven receptions for the team-high 125 yards and two receiving touchdowns last week against the Saints. Godwin leads the NFL with six receiving touchdowns and is ranked third in receiving yards, and has posted 625 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns in the past six games. He’s going for his third in a row with 125-plus receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns overall and going for his third in a row against Carolina in which he records 100-plus yards and a receiving touchdown.
Mike Evans has received four touchdown passes in the last three games, and since 2014 he ranks fourth in the league in receiving yards with 6471 and receiving touchdowns with 44.
On the other side of the ball, linebacker Shaquil Barrett leads the NFL with nine sacks and had three sacks in the last game against Carolina. Lavonte David is the only player since 2012 to record 900-plus tackles, 20-plus sacks, and 15-plus forced fumbles and is looking to record his third in a row against Carolina with seven or more tackles.
Kevin Minter led the Buccaneers in Week 5 with 10 tackles and is looking to play his third game in a row with nine or more tackles. Cornerback Vernon Hargreaves recorded his career-high 12 tackles and a pass deflection in the last meeting during Week 2 and is going for his third game in a row against Carolina in which he recorded a pass deflection.
Rookie Sean Murphy-Bunting posted five tackles and his first career interception last week, and safety Jordan Whitehead had five pass deflections in the last two games and is going for his third in a row with two or more pass deflections.
The NFL Network will provide coverage of the game in London, and kick-off is at 9:30 a.m.
