Buccaneers at Panthers
THE STORY: Even in the NFL, having fun can make a big difference and that could be evident Saturday when the Carolina Panthers host the division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Despite being four games under .500, the Panthers are clearly having fun on the field. Case in point: the Panthers’ hidden-ball trickery in last week’s 28-13 win over the Houston Texans. With a clearly confused defense, quarterback Cam Newton subtly took a snap, sidestepped behind TE Richie Brockel before sliding him the ball between his legs, then darted toward the right side of the end zone. Brockel waited a second, calmly stood up and darted the opposite way for his memorable first career touchdown. Meanwhile, no one is having fun in Tampa, losers of eight straight games, the last three by at least 16 points. The Bucs lost 31-15 last week to the Dallas Cowboys.
TV: FOX, 1 p.m. ET. LINE: Panthers -7, O/U 48
ABOUT THE BUCCANEERS (4-10): Tampa Bay will pull even with the Panthers in the NFC South with a win. Quarterback Josh Freeman will have to lead the way. In his last two starts against the Panthers he is 30 of 48 for 419 yards with four TDs and a QB rating of 118.3. Freeman has 3,044 passing yards this season, his second consecutive season surpassing 3,000. Freeman, who missed the earlier matchup due to injury, has thrown 18 interceptions after getting picked off only six times last season.
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (5-9): Carolina has won four of the last six meetings against the Buccaneers, including 38-19 in Week 13 in Tampa. Newton set the NFL record for rushing TDs (13) by a quarterback in that contest with three. The QB has also set an NFL rookie record with 30 (17 pass, 13 rush) total touchdowns this season. Also in the first meeting, Newton became the third player – and first QB – in NFL history with three or more rushing TDs, a passing TD and a reception in a single game.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Newton has 3,722 passing yards this season. He needs 18 more to surpass Peyton Manning for most by a rookie quarterback.
2. Carolina WR Steve Smith is second in the NFC with 1,299 receiving yards. He leads the NFL with 27 catches of 20-plus yards.
3. Tampa Bay second-year receiver Mike Williams was held without a catch last week against Dallas. It was the first time in 30 games.