Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking to rebound from the opening defeat of the season to the New Orleans Saints. The new-look Bucs will have a much easier opponent to tackle this time around as the Panthers come to visit Raymond James Stadium in an NFC showdown. Tom Brady is looking ahead of his inaugural home match as the Bucs. The GOAT will no doubts be highly motivated to snatch the win and get his new team’s campaign up and running. Tampa are heavy favorites at -370 odds to win, but can we regard this pick as a banker? Stay tuned and find it out in the next lines.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Dangerously Out of Sync
It has been tough to be a Tampa fan over the last several years. They always seemed to have done fantastic jobs in the off season only to survive a serious slump when it matters most. The story was very similar ahead of the 2020 campaign, with a notable difference, though. The team signed arguably the greatest player of all time in the like of Tom Brady. They gathered a powerful group of players around him by signing Rob Gronkowski, Leonard Fournette, and LeSean McCoy. The Super Bowl hype came in naturally, but only to see a blow in the shape of a 34-23 defeat in Week 1 against New Orleans Saints. The clash with Drew Brees and Alvin Kamara is one of the toughest first-round match-ups you can have, but Tom Brady still failed to impress throwing two interceptions on the occasion.
Brady obviously needs some time to sync up with his receivers as he had no preseason matches to do so. He accrued just 239 yards against the Saints and is expected to accomplish much more against a vulnerable defense of the Panthers on Sunday. For some reason, he threw the ball just eight times before the final play of the first half last weekend. We expect much more plays through the air. Don't forget that the future Hall of Famer has an extremely talented group of stars around him in Tampa and the clash with the likes of Carolina is an ideal opportunity for them to shine and prove their worth. We expect much more from this year's acquisition Leonard Fournette, too. He only had five carries for no more than five yards. Chris Goodwin and O.J. Howard are also fantastic receiving options. Overall, the home win should really be the only possible betting pick here.
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Carolina Panthers – A Struggling Side
The Panthers ended the last season at the very bottom of the NFC South with a 5-11 record. However, we can’t forget they can represent a formidable force on their day, especially on the road where they snatched three of these five wins last time out. Carolina did not enter the new season with any higher ambitions as nobody can imagine them challenging Tampa Bay or New Orleans in the battle for the division title. The opening Matchday did not bring much success either as the Panthers' defense fell badly against the mediocre Las Vegas Raiders. The team's offense clicked up both on the ground and in the air but the defense forced no sacks. It did not create a turnover in the match either. It naturally resulted in 34 conceded points.
Much like their Sunday counterparts, Carolina have gathered a whole new team featuring a new coach, a new quarterback, and a whole bunch of new defensive players. Teddy Bridgewater earned a Carolina move thanks to solid performances for the Saints last season as he took advantage of Drew Brees' absence. He accrued 270 yards last weekend. He is by no means the team's main star as such a role belongs to Christian McCaffrey. At the age of 24, he is already one of the best running backs in the league and he well proved it on the opening Matchday, carrying for 96 yards against the Raiders. The defense is the team's main weakness, though, especially after Luke Keuchly’s retirement. It was ranked 31st in the NFL last season allowing an average of almost 30 points per game.
The home win is the safest bet of the weekend at -370 odds. A potential loss to such a vulnerable Panthers' squad would be a disaster for Tom Brady and his star-studded line-up. We just can't see it coming, not with this Carolina defense. Braver punters can try with the hosts to win by at least nine points difference pick at the -105 odds. Since the Bucs' defense did not shine in their opener against the Saints either, Over 47.5 points looks like a great bet too. You can find this pick at this line at -110 odds with most sportsbooks. To sum it all up, our expert pick for the Buccaneers vs. Panthers clash is Bucs to win by at least nine points. That’s one touchdown and one field goal difference. At these odds and under these circumstances, a well-worth backing pick.
