The perfect season is over. Now the Panthers have to focus on making sure the NFC playoffs run through Charlotte. The pressure is off Carolina after their 14-0 start and 18-game regular season win streak ended in an uneventful loss at Atlanta. A bounce-back win gets the Panthers home-field advantage and puts them back on track for their ultimate goal.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Carolina Panthers -11
Tampa Bay Buccaneers +11
Over/Under 47
ODDS ANALYSIS
Since climbing to .500 at 6-6, Tampa Bay has gone 0-3 SU and ATS and faces its largest spread of the season. The line was wagered to Carolina -10.5 while the total jumped a half-point to 47.5. The Panthers have won five straight over their division rival and are 5-2 ATS in their last seven home games against the Bucs.
KEY INJURIES
Chris Conte – Tampa Bay’s starting safety sat out Sunday’s game with a knee injury and is questionable to play in the regular season finale. Keith Tandy took his place in the starting lineup and had 10 tackles.
Fozzy Whitaker – Was carted off the field Sunday with a right ankle injury. He was used at running back in the absence of Jonathan Stewart and was Carolina’s primary kickoff return man. Coach Ron Rivera said the team will look at Teddy Williams, Brandon Wegher, Cameron Artis-Payne and others as a replacement on kickoffs.
KEY MISMATCH
The talk of Cam Newton winning the NFL MVP award diminished after his Panthers lost a game – A game, as in one. Newton and his team had an off day Sunday in Atlanta, losing for the first time this season and for the first time in 392 days. He was the best player on a 14-0 team. Now he’s the best player on a 14-1 team. More times than not the winner of the MVP award is the quarterback on the best team in the NFL. There is stiff competition and not everyone is convinced Newton is the league’s best player. A strong running game, solid tight end play, a cohesive offensive line and a top-10 defense are reasons why Newton is having success. With 626 yards rushing this year, Newton is on pace to finish with the third-highest total of his career. No quarterback has more yards rushing than Newton this season. Only one quarterback other than Newton – Randall Cunningham in 1990 – has passed for 3,000 yards, rushed for 500 yards and thrown at least 30 touchdowns. He’s also led the Panthers to four comeback victories in the fourth quarter this season. So, who’s the MVP?
KEY STAT
+19 – Carolina’s turnover margin. The Panthers lead the NFL in differential and have 36 takeaways. Tampa Bay is minus-4 in turnover margin and has turned the ball over 25 times.
BETTING ANGLE
The ultimate goal for the Panthers in the 2015 season is to win the Super Bowl. That took a backseat to the team’s historic undefeated run. But now that perfection is out of the question, can the Panthers refocus? They need to with the Arizona Cardinals nipping at their heels for the top seed in the NFC playoff picture. While Carolina has been the talk of the NFL going 14-0 to start the year, the Cards have quietly kept pace. The Panthers’ run ended last Sunday with a loss at Atlanta, a team they crushed just two weeks earlier, 38-0, at home. What seemed like a sure thing just a week ago is now far from it. Another Carolina loss and a Cardinals victory would give home-field advantage through the NFC playoffs to Arizona. Nobody wanted to lose, but a few players admitted the pressure to go 16-0 was in the back of their minds.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
Now that the pressure of a perfect season is out the window, the Panthers can get back to doing what they do best. Several players admitted after Sunday’s loss that going undefeated was in the back of their minds. Judging by their performance against a team Carolina dismantled just two games earlier, we might have to agree. The Panthers looked lethargic and appeared to be playing not to lose the game, which didn’t work out for them and isn’t what got them to 14-0. Now the Panthers can get back to work and sew up home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
Carolina 31, Tampa Bay 17
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