3 big surprises from the Panthers win vs. Buccaneers in Week 7
By Dean Jones
What were the big surprises to emerge from the Carolina Panthers’ outstanding victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7?
Well, wasn’t that a turn-up for the books?
After a week where the Carolina Panthers traded away Robbie Anderson and Christian McCaffrey, those left produced a performance of the highest quality to get one over on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A result that puts them within one game of first in the NFC South.
This might be one of the worst divisions in football right now. But that won’t matter much to the Panthers as interim head coach Steve Wilks looks to put the necessary foundations in place to make team owner David Tepper think twice about looking elsewhere for his long-term Matt Rhule replacement.
It was a day for shocks, but which surprising factors played a key role in the Panthers’ well-deserved triumph over the Buccaneers at Bank of America Stadium?
Big Surprise No. 1
Carolina Panthers 3rd down defense
Getting off the field on third down has been an ongoing complication for the Carolina Panthers’ defense. On Sunday, it was a completely different story.
The Panthers restricted Tom Brady and the Buccaneers to just two successful third-down attempts in 12, which represents a significant step in the right direction under Steve Wilks. Something that previous head coach Matt Rhule simply failed to solve at the next level.
Doing it on a consistent basis is the next step for Carolina’s ever-improving defense. But this was better than most envisaged with the Panthers as 13.5-point underdogs prior to the contest.