The Carolina Panthers travel south in Week 17 to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a pivotal NFC South division matchup.
The Panthers enter the matchup with a record of 6-9, and in second place of the NFC South division. In Week 16, Carolina defeated the Detroit Lions, 37-23, in the regular season home finale.
The Buccaneers enter Week 17 atop the NFC South with a record of 7-8 after defeating the Arizona Cardinals in overtime, 19-16, in Week 16.
This will mark the 45th all-time matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers, and second of the 2022 season. The Panthers defeated the Buccaneers, 21-3, in Week Seven. Carolina currently holds a 25-19 record all-time against the Buccaneers, including a 12-9 record in Tampa Bay.
The Numbers
About Carolina
- The Carolina offense had a record-setting day against the Detroit Lions, rushing for a new franchise best 321 yards (previous high was 299 vs Tampa Bay, 12/8/08) and recording the most total net yards in franchise history with 571 (previous high was 548 vs Miami, 11/13/17).
- Running back D’Onta Foreman led the way with a career-high 165 yards on 21 carries (7.9 avg) and a touchdown. Fellow running back, Chuba Hubbard, also turned in a career-high 125 yards on 12 carries (10.4 avg).
- RB Chuba Hubbard and RB D’Onta Foreman are the first teammates to rush for at least 100 yards in the first half of a game since 2006 when Jaguars’ running backs Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew both ran for 100 against Indianapolis (12/10/06).
- The Panthers limited the Lions, who entered the game averaging 126.1 rushing yards per game, to just 45 yards on the ground.
- Defensive end Brian Burns recorded his fifth career multi-sack game in Week 16 after sacking Lions quarterback Jared Goff twice. Burns is tied for fifth league-wide among defensive linemen with 38.0 sacks since 2019 and needs just three more sacks to set the franchise record for sacks in a single season (15.0, Kevin Greene 1998, Greg Hardy 2013).
- Linebacker Frankie Luvu enters Week 17 ranked second on the team with 92 tackles and tied for seventh in the NFC with 14 tackles for loss.
- QB Sam Darnold has made four starts in 2022, completing 54 of his 88 passing attempts (61.4%) for 759 yards. He has passed for four touchdowns and zero interceptions, good for a 104.3 passer rating. Since taking over in Week 12, Darnold’s 104.3 passer rating ranks fifth league-wide during that time span. This is the first time in his career since Weeks 15 of the 2018 season through Week One of the 2019 season that Darnold has gone four consecutive starts without an interception.
- After having 13 different starting lineups along the offensive line a season ago, the Panthers have had just two different starting five combinations up front in 2022 (not including jumbo packages).
About Tampa Bay
- Quarterback Tom Brady has 14th-career seasons with 4,000+ pass yards, tied for most (HOFer Peyton Manning) in NFL history. Brady leads the NFL with 443 completions in 2022 and can surpass Drew Brees (471 in 2016) for 2nd-most completions in single season all time. Brady can also become the 1st player ever with 30+ completions in five straight games. He passed for 326 yards & 3 touchdowns vs. 0 interceptions for 130.4 rating in last home meeting.
- Running back Leonard Fournette had 9 catches and a season-high 162 scrimmage yards (career-high 90 rec., 72 rush) in Week 16. He has 1,140 scrimmage yards in 2022, his 4th-career season with 1,100+ scrimmage yards. Fournette ranks 3rd among running backs with 68 receptions this season and has 3 rushing touchdowns in 4 career games vs. Carolina.
- Wide receiver Mike Evans has 917 receiving yards in 2022 and can become the 1st player ever with 1,000+ rec. yards in each of his 1st 9 seasons and 3rd player all-time (HOFers Tim Brown & Jerry Rice) with 9 straight 1,000+ receiving yard seasons. Evans has 4 receiving touchdowns in his past 4 games vs. Carolinas and aims for his 6th in row vs. Car. with 6+ catches and 75+ receiving yards.
- Wide receiver Chris Godwin has 5+ catches in 12 straight games – the longest active streak in the NFL. Godwin has 90+ receiving yards in 4 of his past 5 vs. Carolina and aims for his 6th in row vs. Carolina with 5+ catches.
- Linebacker LaVonte David led the team with 10 tackles & had a tackle for a loss & pass defended last week. He has 113 tackles in 2022 – his 9th-career 100+ tackle season and has 5+ tackles in 18 of his 19 career games vs. Carolina.
- Linebacker Devin White had his 1st fumble recovery of the season last week. This is his 3rd-straight season with 100+ tackles (115) in 2022. White aims for his 4th in row at home vs. Carolina with a tackle for a loss.
- Cornerback Carlton Davis has 8 passes defended in his past 5 games and has 7 passes defended in his past 6 vs. Carolina.
Connections
- Panthers DE Brian Burns is a native of Fort Lauderdale, FL and attended American Heritage School. Burns also played his collegiate years at Florida State from 2016-2018.
- Panthers S Sam Franklin Jr. is a native of Crystal River, FL and attended Citrus HS.
- Panthers DE Marquis Haynes Sr. is a native of Jacksonville, FL and attended University Christian School.
- Panthers CB CJ Henderson is a native of Miami, FL and attended Columbus HS. Henderson also spent his collegiate years at Florida from 2017-2019.
- Panthers K Eddy Piñeiro is a native of Miami, FL, and attended Miami Sunset HS. He went on to attend Florida form 2016-2017.
- Panthers T Cameron Erving attended Florida State from 2011-2014.
- Buccaneers assistant head coach/run game coordinator Harold Goodwin is a native of Columbia, SC and attended Hopkins Lower Richland HS.
- Buccaneers outside linebackers coach Bob Sanders attended Davidson College and was the defensive linebackers coach at East Carolina from 1980-1982. Sanders also coached at Duke as their defensive end/outside linebackers coach and the defensive coordinator from 1985-1989.
- Buccaneers quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen has made several coaching stops around the Carolinas, including East Carolina as the offensive coordinator/running backs/quarterbacks coach (1986-1988), South Carolina as running backs coach (1991), and Clemson as the co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach (1994-1995).
- Buccaneers RB Giovani Bernard attended North Carolina from 2010-2012.
- Buccaneers K Ryan Succop is a native of Hickory, NC and attended Hickory HS. He went on to attend South Carolina from 2005-2008.
- Buccaneers CB Anthony Chesley played at Costal Carolina from 2015-2018.
- Buccaneers CB Dee Delaney is from Beaufort, SC and attended Whale Branch HS.
- Buccaneers OL Nick Leverett is a native of Salisbury, NC and attended Concord HS.
- Buccaneers assistant wide receivers coach Thaddeus Lewis attended Duke from 2006-2009.
Panthers vs Buccaneers
All-Time Series: 44 total matchups | Carolina leads the series 25-19
Last Regular Season Game: 10/23/22 | Tampa Bay 3 vs Carolina 21
Series Record at Venue: Carolina currently leads the series with a record of 12-9 with games played in Tampa Bay
How to Watch
Kickoff: 1:00 p.m. ET FOX – Chris Myers, Robert Smith,Jen Hale
Live Stream: Panthers.com
Radio: WRFX 99.7FM in Charlotte market; On The Call: Anish Shroff, Jake Delhomme, Luke Kuechly, Kristen Balboni, Jim Szoke
Per Release
UNC Continues to Shine into the Final Stretch