Carolina Panthers Week 2 grades vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers v Carolina Panthers

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – SEPTEMBER 12: Vernon Hargreaves III #28 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers forces Christian McCaffrey #22 of the Carolina Panthers out-of-bounds short of the first down marker on fourth down late in the fourth quarter of their game at Bank of America Stadium on September 12, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Buccaneers won 20-14. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Offense

Quarterbacks: C-
Running Backs: C-
Wide Receivers: B-
Tight Ends: B
Offensive Line: C-

It seemingly all came down to gaining a single yard with just over a minute remaining for Carolina but lets not forget this was the third time Tampa Bay stopped the Panthers. On the opening drive, coach Ron Rivera elected to go for it on fourth down but the offense couldn’t get a yard. Then, down three after an early fourth-quarter safety by the defense, the Panthers were stopped again. All before a fourth-and-one with the game on the line.

Newton finished completing just under half (25) of his 51 pass attempts for 324 yards but never found the end zone and was sacked three times. Running back Christian McCaffrey, who shined during Week 1, was bottled up all evening including the final play.

The Buccaneers were content making Newton and his receivers beat them. Tight end Greg Olsen tallied 110 receiving yards to lead the team while Curtis Samuel and D.J. Moore tallied 14 catches between them for another 180 yards but it wasn’t enough.

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