4 keys to victory for the Carolina Panthers at Buccaneers in Week 18

What are the keys to ending another lost season on a high note for the Carolina Panthers at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 18?

Another first-half lead was squandered by the Carolina Panthers in Week 17, continuing a trend from the start of the season. The team simply could not get anything going in the second half at the New Orleans Saints, which piled further pressure on Matt Rhule and resulted in their 11th loss in the last 13 games.

Bad reads, bad calls, miscues, and undisciplined play once again sunk the Panthers‘ hopes of a victory and shows just how broken this organization truly is. Even the basics of getting plays called on time are too much.

That isn’t to say there weren’t any bright spots from a largely boring outing by both teams, however.

Brady Christensen starred at left tackle, securing the edge better than any other performance on the season no matter the player, and gave fans a little bit of hope that the two edges may finally be secure after such a long journey of pain. While the rookie lineman was pushed back regularly, he kept his assignment in front of him and did his job of keeping Sam Darnold upright.

With the exception of a couple of big plays, the run defense also finally woke up for the first time in recent memory. Holding an explosive Saints team to only 73 total rushing yards. But this was at the expense of the pass rush which was unable to generate any meaningful pressure without Haason Reddick in the lineup due to COVID-19 protocols.

This was, however, the last good chance at a win for this team in 2021. One that was quite literally thrown away by Sam Darnold with under a minute left.

In the brand new Week 18, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will once again come calling. With the No. 2 playoff seed in their sights, they will have all the motivation in the world to drive the Panthers into the ground.

This game could get ugly quickly and to be honest. It would be better to lose it, but that’s not what this article series is about.

There are some things, that if done properly, could bring victory back to the Panthers and end things on a high note. But what could those be?