The 3-2 Carolina Panthers and the 2-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers traveled to London, England for Week 6 of the 2019 NFL 100th-anniversary season.
The game is part of a series of games between NFL teams playing at least two games in the brand-new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium until at least 2027.
The last time these teams met was in Week 2 of this season when Tampa Bay handed Carolina a 20-14 loss on Thursday Night Football. As a result, the Buccaneers were slight favorites in this game as well.
Tampa Bay chose to receive the ball first, but Jameis Winston promptly gave it away as James Bradberry picked off the first play from scrimmage. The Panthers converted this takeaway into early points, as Joey Slye kicked a 49-yard field goal with 13:21 left in the first quarter, giving Carolina a 3-0 lead.
The next few drives yielded no points for either team, but the Panthers executed a 12-play, 99-yard drive –– ending in a one-yard Christian McCaffrey touchdown with just over one minute left in the first.
Slye drilled the PAT and Carolina took a 10-0 into the second quarter.
Following a three and out, Tampa Bay’s Ryan Smith forced a fumble on the fair catch in which Kevin Minter recovered. Ronald Jones II rushed for the two-yard score, cutting the Carolina lead to 10-7.
The Panthers’ first drive stalled, but the defense picked them up when Javien Elliot picked off Jameis Winston (second INT for Winston). Christian McCaffrey proceeded to be on the receiving end of a 25-yard touchdown strike from Kyle Allen, making the score 17-7 (after a Slye PAT).
Carolina was able to gain yet another takeaway from Tampa Bay when Vernon Butler sacked Winston, forcing a fumble, and Bruce Irvin recovered it.
Panthers’ rookie kicker Joey Slye attempted a rare “fair catch kick” at the end of the second quarter, but the ball went wide right from 60 yards out and the score remained 17-7 Panthers after one half.
The Panthers received the ball to open the second half, and converted their first drive into points. Joey Slye kicked a 46-yard field goal to make the score 20-7 Carolina.
In the first Tampa Bay possession of the second half, Winston threw his third interception of the game. This time Luke Kuechly recorded the interception and returned it for 25 yards.
Curtis Samuel rushed for an eight-yard touchdown score to extend the lead to 27-7.
Tampa Bay put their first points since early in the first quarter on the board with a 54-yard field goal kick by Matt Gay. The scoreboard read 27-10 with five-and-a-half minutes left in the quarter.
A score that would hold true through the remainder of the quarter.
Curtis Samuel scored on a 13-yard touchdown catch on the first play of the fourth, making it 34-10.
The Buccaneers netted eight points on their inaugural drive of the fourth, cutting the lead to 34-18.
The next several possessions didn’t yield any points for the two teams, and after the second Carolina three and out, Tampa Bay fumbled the punt and Jordan Scarlett recovered the fumble to give the possession back to Carolina.
The Carolina possession started at the Tampa Bay 17-yard line and ended with another field goal kick by Slye, this time for 29 yards, extending the lead to 37-18.
In the next Tampa Bay possession, the Buccaneers returned for a touchdown, concluding the 10-play drive with a Dare Ogunbowale three-yard touchdown run.
Tampa Bay again attempted the two-point conversion, and for the second time were successful when Winston rushed the right end.
The gap in the score was closed to 11 with 4:47 remaining in the game.
In the remaining possessions of the game, Winston had his fourth interception, this time by Russ Cockrell –– who took it for 33 yards.
Slye missed a 41-yard field goal attempt, and then Winston’s final pass of the game into the endzone was also intercepted, again by James Bradberry, cementing the Carolina victory.
Both teams have their bye week next week and will return to play in Week 8. The Panthers will face the San Francisco 49ers and the Buccaneers will play against the Tennessee Titans.
.@KyleAllen_10 is the first QB in NFL history to win his first 5 games without throwing an interception 😏 pic.twitter.com/BG3eNeMQ7v
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) October 13, 2019
