4 crucial matchups the Panthers must win vs. Buccaneers in Week 16

Robby Anderson vs. Sean Murphy-Bunting

Robby Anderson has been a bit of a conundrum during his time with the Carolina Panthers. Some of that is the result of the truly horrendous quarterback carrousel the team has been on during that time.

The speedster became an afterthought at the beginning of the 2021 season after racking up more than 1,000 yards in 2020 and followed that up with some remarkable drops when the ball actually went his way.

Week 16 could be his chance to prove the doubters wrong and show he still has something to give.

The wiry receiver will be lined up against corner Sean Murphy-Bunting. Not the worst matchup from a Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ perspective, but the third-year player has one glaring weakness.

He can get beat deep.

The Panthers have yet to turn the deep ball lose at any point this season on a regular basis. But with a matchup with this kind of advantage on the outside, how could they not?

Murphy-Bunting has consistently been the player barely in the frame of highlights of long bomb touchdowns this season, being burned by simple speed routes a lot of the time. The thing that Anderson excels at above all else, no matter what his production last year may tell you.

This will be something the Panthers have to target early and often, just chuck it up there and trust that Anderson will be where it lands. Even if the team only hits on half of those attempts it will be a winning formula as the majority of those could be touchdowns or big gains.

Expose weaknesses, that’s how you win football games. And this might just be the greatest weakness of this Buccaneers team.