Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Carolina Panthers Prediction, Preview and Odds - 12/26/2021

Game Time: 1:00 pm ET, Sunday, December 26, 2021

Venue:  Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC

Where to Watch:  Fox

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Buccaneers -10.5, Panthers +10.5; Over/Under:  44 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Buccaneers -10.5, Panthers +10.5; Over/Under:  44 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Buccaneers -10.5, Panthers +10.5; Over/Under:  44.5 points

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:  10-4 (1st place, NFC South)

Carolina Panthers:  5-9 (4th place, NFC South)

 

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers:  lost at home on Dec. 19 against the New Orleans Saints 9-0.

Carolina Panthers:  lost on the road on Dec. 19 against the Buffalo Bills 31-14.

 

 

 

The Buccaneers are coming into this game with a 10-4 record overall and they are 4-3 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 5th divisional matchup of the year and they are currently 2-2 in their division games this season. This will also be their first meeting with the Panthers this season and will see them again in 2 weeks from this game. The Bucs have won 4 of their last 5 games but are coming into this one off of a loss in their last game which snapped a 4 game winning streak that they were on. Their 4 wins were against the New York Giants, the Indianapolis Colts, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Buffalo Bills while their loss came against the New Orleans Saints in their last game. Tom Brady completed 26/48 passes for 214 yards in that one. Ronald Jones II led the team in rushing with 63 yards on 8 carries while Leonard Fournette led the team in carries with 9 for 34 yards but had to leave the game early due to an injury. Chris Godwin led the receivers with 49 yards on 6 receptions and he also left that game with a season ending ACL injury. Lavonte David led the defense in that game with 8 solo tackles and 3 assisted ones. David and Joe Tyron both recorded the only sacks in that game with 1 each while no one on the defense was able to come up with an interception for them in that one. They have scored 410 points in their 14 games this season averaging 29.3 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 306 points against them allowing 21.9 PPG. Their offense is averaging 402.4 YPG while their defense is allowing 333.6 YPG.

 

 

The Panthers are coming into this game with a 5-9 record overall and they are 2-5 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. This will be the 4th divisional matchup on their schedule this season and they are currently 2-1 in their division games this season. They have lost 5 of their last 6 games and are coming into this one on a 4 game losing streak after another loss in their last game. Their last win was against the Arizona Cardinals while their 5 losses in that span were against the New England Patriots, the Washington Football Team, the Miami Dolphins, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Buffalo Bills in their last game. Cam Newton completed 18/38 passes for 156 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception in that one. Newton also led the team in rushing with 71 yards and 1 touchdown on 15 carries while Chuba Hubbard had 40 yards on 8 carries. D.J. Moore led the receivers with 48 yards on 6 receptions while Ameer Abdullah had 48 yards and 1 touchdown on 4 receptions. Jeremy Chinn led the defense in that game with 5 solo tackles and 2 assisted ones. Yetur Gross-Matos led the defense in sacks in that game with 2.5 while Chinn came up with the only interception for them in that one. They have scored 271 points in their 14 games this season averaging 19.4 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 313 points against them allowing 22.4 PPG. Their offense is averaging 308.1 YPG while their defense is allowing 294.4 YPG.

 

 

The Panthers are coming into this game as a 10.5 point underdog with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Bucs have not been playing well in their recent games and they are coming off of a game where they were completely shut out 9-0 by the Saints who are playing with a backup quarterback. The Bucs have also struggled on the road this season and they are going up against a Panthers team that has a very good defense and could replicate the game plan that the Saints used in their last game to stop the Bucs. This should be a closer game with it being a division game and with the Bucs being able to clinch the division with a win here. The Panthers will get up for this game so the best bet to place in this game is on the Panthers to cover the spread here.

 

Buccaneers Panthers Prediction:  Our NFL Pick for Sunday, December 26, 2021 (1:00 pm ET start time) is Buccaneers 27 Panthers 23.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 6-3 ATS as a favorite of 10 or more points. 7-3 ATS in December games. 12-4 ATS off 1 or more consecutive unders. 6-1 ATS off an upset loss as a favorite. 6-1 ATS off a home loss. 

Carolina Panthers: 5-9 ATS in all games. 3-7 ATS as a home underdog. 6-16 ATS in home games. 4-11 ATS in a home game where the total is between 42.5 and 49 points. 12-20 ATS in games played on a grass field. 6-16 ATS off 1 or more straight overs. 2-8 ATS after failing to cover the spread in 4 or 5 out of their last 6 games. 

 

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:  A. Brown (WR) Elig Sun - Suspension. L. Fournette (RB) Out Sun - Hamstring injury. M. Evans (WR) Ques Sun - Hamstring injury. C. Godwin (WR) I-R - Knee injury.

Carolina Panthers:  C. McCaffrey (RB) I-R - Ankle injury. A. Bouye (CB) Out indefinitely - Foot injury. J. Horn (CB) Prob Sun - Foot injury. S. Darnold (QB) Ques Sun - Shoulder injury.

 

 

"Just a tough night. Didn't do much of anything right. I wish it was just one thing. It was a lot of things. We just didn't play well enough. We're not going to win scoring no points." - Tom Brady on getting shut out in their loss against the Saints in their last game.

 

 

"That's not something we expected. If anything, I would've come into this game typically saying, `Hey, it's windy weather, let's kick short field goals to take points. We really thought our defense was going to play well." - Matt Rhule after his team’s loss against the Bills in their last game. 

 

 

 

WR Evans, Mike 

WR Johnson, Tyler

TE Howard, OJ 

TE GRONKOWSKI, ROB 

QB BRADY, TOM 

RB Jones II, Ronald

 

WR Moore, DJ 

WR Anderson, Robby 

TE Tremble, Tommy 

TE Thomas, Ian 

QB NEWTON, CAM  

RB Hubbard, Chuba

FB Ricci, Giovanni 

 

 

Passing: T. Brady (4348)

Rushing: L. Fournette (812)

Receiving: C. Godwin (1103)

Touchdowns: M. Evans (11)

 

Passing: S. Darnold (1986)

Rushing: C. Hubbard (500)

Receiving: D. Moore (986)

Touchdowns: S. Darnold (5)

 

Coaches:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Bruce Arians (3rd season)

Carolina Panthers: Matt Rhule (2nd season)