The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hope to remain players in the postseason race and notch their longest winning streak in four years on Sunday as they battle the division rival Carolina Panthers for the second time this year.
Playing under first-year head coach Greg Schiano, the Bucs have ripped off three straight wins to move above .500 at 5-4 and into second place in the NFC South. However, that is still a distant three games behind the first-place Atlanta Falcons.
Tampa Bay has averaged 37.3 points per game over its three-game winning streak and is coming off a 34-24 victory over the San Diego Chargers last weekend. The Buccaneers scored in all three phases, getting a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Josh Freeman, an 83-yard pick-six by rookie cornerback Leonard Johnson and a 29-yard return for a score by linebacker Adam Hayward following a blocked punt.
The Bucs survived 337 passing yards and three touchdowns by San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers, picking him off twice while notching two sacks.
"Today we played team football. We held each other up, and it is critical against a good football team," Schiano said. "We ran into Philip Rivers, he's been as hot as a fire cracker the last two games. We did just enough to find a win. It's a good feeling."
An even better feeling would be for Tampa Bay to post its first four-game winning streak since a perfect November during the 2008 campaign.
The Bucs would love to duplicate their 16-10 season-opening win at home over the Panthers as they held Carolina to just 10 yards rushing. That matched the lowest total yards allowed on the ground in team history and Tampa Bay helped ice the win by picking off Panthers quarterback Cam Newton on back-to-back drives beginning late in the third quarter.
Tampa Bay's win came after it lost both of its contests last season to Carolina, which leads the all-time series 14-10 with a 7-5 advantage at home.
The Panthers, though, enter this game just 2-7 and failed to follow up a big win over the Washington Redskins, falling last Sunday by a 36-14 margin to the Denver Broncos.
Like Tampa Bay last weekend, Denver found a variety of ways to score versus Carolina. The Broncos scored a pair of touchdowns on offense, returned a punt 76 yards for a score and also got an interception returned 40 yards for a touchdown. That was enough to overshadow Newton's two touchdown passes to tight end Greg Olson.
Panthers head coach Ron Rivera stressed after the loss that inconsistency has plagued his club all year long.
"Some of us have to make plays when you get the opportunities. I think that is a big part of it," he said. "If you look at it you'll see that we missed some opportunities. We missed some blocks. You have to be able to protect the offensive line. When the ball is thrown, you have to catch it. You have to make good decisions when you go throw it. Defensively we were really good on third down, but you can't give up a big play."
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Special teams could play a big factor in this contest, which would favor the Buccaneers.
After all, the Panthers fired special teams coordinator Brian Murphy on Monday because of what Rivera said were "philosophical differences and productivity" and it is unfortunate that the punt return for a score by Denver's Trindon Holliday may have been the final nail given as the play should not have even counted. Replays showed that Holliday's was in fact a touchback in favor of Carolina after the returner tossing the ball out of his hands in early celebration before crossing the goal line.
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/11/15/3098791/nfl-preview-tampa-bay-5-4-at-carolina.html
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