It’s been a sloppy, but close game between two erratic quarterbacks and two 0-1 NFC South teams on Thursday night.
Neither the Buccaneers nor the Panthers were able to find any semblance of consistency in the first half, with Jameis Winston and Cam Newton misfiring on most of their deep passes. It’s been a game that’s belonged to the defenses and the kickers. Openings have been there for both sides, though, and Winston was the only one to take advantage of that. Histouchdown pass to a wide open Chris Godwin with 1: 20 remaining in the second quarterrepresented the only touchdown of the first half.
Below, we’re bringing you live updates and analysis as the game unfolds with our live blog. After, this post will turn into a takeaways style recap, so be sure to check back later.
Game preview
Welcome to bounce-back week and we start off with the Carolina Panthers hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football. Since 2015, only 18.2% of teams that started 0-2 have recovered to make the playoffs, according to Pro-Football-Reference. The average final record for those teams? 6-10. So, Thursday night’s game between the 0-1 Buccaneers and the 0-1 Panthers carries almost as much importance as a playoff game.
Of the two teams, it’s the Panthers that should feel the most encouraged. Despite falling to the Rams at home on Sunday, the Panthers were in a position to beat the defending NFC champions, but two first-half fumbles and a missed field goal doomed them in a three-point game. The Buccaneers, on the other hand, look like they could be a disaster. In a 14-point home loss to the 49ers, Jameis Winston threw two pick-sixes, looking like the same Jameis Winston we’ve come to know throughout his career and nothing like the new and improved version that first-year head coach Bruce Arians was hoping to get.
The two NFC South teams will meet in Carolina on Thursday night as they jockey for position in the division behind the 1-0 Saints.
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