The 1-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers will try to get their season back on track on Sunday against the 3-0 Carolina Panthers. A win would do wonders for the Bucs' season and their chances in the division, while a loss would see them drop to three games behind the division leader -- possibly three games behind both of them. That would be a very tough hurdle to overcome the rest of the season.
The Bucs aren't as hopeless as they may seem, though. While they've struggled so far this season, we've seen a lot of positive signs as well: Jameis Winston has looked better every game, Mike Evans is still explosive and capable of big plays, the defense can get after the passer when it needs to and Kwon Alexander looks like he'll be really good once everything clicks for him. But they've been stifled by constant errors of execution, caused by a lack of familiarity among players and plain sloppy play. These are issues that can be fixed, but they'd better be fixed quickly.
The Bucs can start to do so against Carolina on Sunday, against a stout defense that will be missing its best player in Luke Kuechly. Here's everything you need to know about the game.
Nuts and Bolts
Game time: Sunday, October 4, 1:00 p.m. ET
TV Channel: FOX (Do I get the game?)
Announcers: Chris Myers, Ronde Barber
Online streaming: NFL Game Pass (live audio, replay afterwards)
Odds: Panthers by 3
Matchup history: Panthers lead 18-11 all-time, 9-5 in Tampa.
Radio: 620 WDAE and 103.5 WFUS
Enemy blog: Cat Scratch Reader
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Twitter: @Bucs_Nation
Predictions
Buccaneers regular season
Week 1: Sunday, Sept. 13, 4:25 p.m. - Tennessee Titans L: 42-14
Week 2: Sunday, Sept. 20, 1:00 p.m. - at New Orleans Saints W: 26-19
Week 3: Sunday, Sept. 27, 1:00 p.m. - at Houston Texans L: 19-9
Week 4: Sunday, Oct. 4, 1:00 p.m. - Carolina Panthers (11-18)
Week 5: Sunday, Oct. 11, 1:00 p.m. - Jacksonville Jaguars (1-4)
Week 6: Bye week
Week 7: Sunday, Oct. 25, 1:00 p.m - at Washington (10-9)
Week 8: Sunday, Nov. 1, 1:00 p.m. - at Atlanta Falcons (21-22)
Week 9: Sunday, Nov. 8, 4:05 p.m. - New York Giants (6-12)
Week 10: Sunday, Nov. 15, 1:00 p.m. - Dallas Cowboys (3-11)
Week 11: Sunday, Nov. 22, 1:00 p.m. - at Philadelphia Eagles (5-8)
Week 12: Sunday, Nov. 29, 1:00 p.m. - at Indianapolis Colts (5-7)
Week 13: Sunday, Dec. 6, 1:00 p.m. - Atlanta Falcons (21-22)
Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 13, 1:00 p.m. - New Orleans Saints (17-29)
Week 15: Thursday, Dec. 17, 8:25 p.m. - at St. Louis Rams (8-12)
Week 16: Sunday, Dec. 27, 1:00 p.m. - Chicago Bears (18-37)
Week 17: Sunday, Jan. 3, 1:00 p.m. - at Carolina Panthers (11-18)