The Carolina Panthers have won two straight games over playoff hopefuls, and now they return home to face off with a team that's been a thorn in their side: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Bucs may or may not get Baker Mayfield back for this contest, but it will be a heated rivalry game regardless. It will also be crucial for the Buccaneers to cut into Carolina's division lead, so it could be a tough game regardless of how the two teams are perceived right now.
What are the experts saying?
Panthers vs. Buccaneers Week 7 NFL expert picks
CBS Sports analyst Pete Prisco has not once picked the Panthers to win, and they've proved him wrong thrice. This time, though, he's going with the surging Panthers, although he's still not predicting a big performance.
Prisco picked a one-point Panthers win, saying, "The Bucs might have Baker Mayfield back for this one. That would be big. The Panthers are rolling on offense as Bryce Young is in the MVP conversation. It will stay that way, but the Bucs will hang around."
His CBS colleague John Breech is also picking the Panthers, but he's taking them by a field goal. Arizona Republic's Jeremy Cluff is picking a Panthers win, 24-16, betting on the Bryce Young-led offense to continue clicking at home.
SI's Ian MacMillan isn't buying any of what the Panthers are doing, and he's picking the Buccaneers to upset them in Charlotte.
"Time to sell high on [the Panthers]. Their offense has been phenomenal to start the year, but I have plenty of questions surrounding the ability of some of the defenses they've had to face... I wouldn't be surprised to see them significantly regress. It could start this weekend when they take on a Tampa Bay defense that's fourth in opponent EPA per play and eighth in opponent success rate," he wrote.
Here's how the rest of the SI staff is predicting this one:
- Mike Kadlick: Panthers
- Gilberto Manzano: Panthers
- John Pluym: Panthers
- Matt Verderame: Panthers
- Peter Dewey: Panthers
Sporting News' Vinnie Iyer disagrees, predicting a 24-17 win. "Jalon Daniels is doing his best to keep the Bucs' competitive with help from the running game. The defense is also bringing a good pass rush of late. Bryce Young is locked in passing all over the field for the Panthers, however and their running game is red-hot with Chuba Hubbard," he wrote.
The Athletic's Nick Kostos picked the Buccaneers straight up and against the spread. If Jalon Daniels starts, he'll take the Panthers, but if it's Mayfield, he believes the Buccaneers will win this one.
"You just get the sense Mayfield will be better when he returns. It’s possible he was pressing after getting his desired contract extension. Mayfield will never be confused with Joe Montana, but he’s a good quarterback," he wrote.
What does this tell us? As mentioned in our coverage of the odds, Baker Mayfield's status is hugely important. But even so, there's a strange amount of belief in the 1-5 Buccaneers and a strange lack of belief in the Panthers.
They can't waltz in expecting to win, in other words.
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