The Buccaneers met the Carolina Panthers for the second time this season in what was considered a Bucs home game, even though the game was actually played in London. The Panthers took care of the Bucs, 37-26, dropping the Bucs’ home record to 0-3 on the season.
The Bucs had played the Panthers in Week 2 of the NFL season in Charlotte and won 20-13.
On Sunday afternoon, the Bucs held the Panthers to 268 yards of total offense, and limited to Christian McCaffrey to 57 yards of total offense. The big difference was the play of quarterback Jameis Winston, who had one of the worst games of his NFL career, putting the ball up 54 times while throwing five interceptions in the loss.
This is the fifth game in Winston’s career in which he has had four or more turnovers. No other quarterback has had more than two games of four-plus turnovers since Winston arrived on the scene in 2015.
Winston is on pace to throw a career-high 25 interceptions this season and this kind of performance does not get you another contract, which Winston is trying to prove he deserves this season. Winston’s previous career-high in interceptions was 18 in 2016.
Tampa Bay had a total of seven turnovers in the game, with Winston being responsible for six of them. Winston was also sacked seven times behind a makeshift offensive line and fumbled late in the first half.
Former Buccaneer Gerald McCoy had his best game of the season as he had two-and-a-half sacks for the Panthers and kept the pressure on Winston all afternoon.
Rookie quarterback Kyle Allen continues to turn heads as he remains undefeated in his starts filling in for the injured Cam Newton. Allen is 4-0 as a starter and was 20-for-32 with 227 yards passing and two touchdowns.
Although the Tampa Bay defense was able to shut down McCaffrey, wide receivers D.J. Moore and Curtis Samuel combined for over 140 receiving yards, with Samuel adding two touchdowns.
The first play of the game for the Bucs resulted in Winston throwing his first interception, setting Carolina up with great field position at the Bucs’ 29.
The Buccaneers held the Panthers to a field goal on that drive, but a couple of drives later, Kyle Allen executed a textbook 99-yard drive to put the Panthers up 10-0, and the Panthers would never be threatened the rest of the way.
Every time the Bucs got something going offensively, Winston threw an interception or was sacked, forfeiting good field position.
Both the Buccaneers and the Panthers will have their bye weeks this week.
The Panthers are 4-2 and couldn’t be happier where they are considering everything was doom and gloom in Charlotte after the Cam Newton injury.
The Buccaneers are 2-4 and with trips to Tennessee and Seattle on the horizon and it looks as if it will be another lost season in Tampa.
