Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers – 9/20/20 NFL Pick, Odds, and Prediction

 The Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers meet in a week 2 NFC South division matchup from Raymond James Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The Carolina Panthers will look to bounce back after a 34-30 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in their season opener last time out. Teddy Bridgewater threw for 270 yards and a touchdown on 22 of 34 passing while also rushing for 26 yards on 4 carries. Christian McCaffrey rushed for 96 yards and a pair of touchdowns as well as recording 3 catches for 38 yards. Robby Anderson led the Panthers in receiving with 6 grabs for 115 yards and a touchdown while DJ Moore had 4 grabs for 54 yards. Defensively, Shaq Thompson had 12 total tackles with 1.5 tackles for a loss while Jeremy Chinn had 8 total tackles as well as 7 solo tackles.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will also try to rebound after dropping a 34-23 loss to the New Orleans Saints in their last game. Tom Brady threw for 239 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions on 23 of 36 passing in his Tampa Bay debut while also rushing for a touchdown as well on his first drive with the Bucs. Ronald Jones II led the Bucs in rushing with 66 yards while Chris Godwin had a team-high 6 catches for 79 yards. Scotty Miller added 5 catches for 73 yards while O.J. Howard had 4 grabs for 36 yards and a touchdown. Mike Evans also added a touchdown grab for the Buccaneers as well in the win. Defensively, Lavonte David had 11 total tackles with 7 solo tackles as well as 2.5 tackles for a loss. Devin White also had 11 solo tackles while Jamel Dean had 7 total tackles.

Carolina is 0-4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall and 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 games as an underdog while the over is 4-1 in their last 5 games within the division. Tampa Bay is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games within the division and 29-59-3 ATS in their last 91 home games while the over is 4-0 in their last 4 games as a home favorite. Carolina is 6-1 ATS in the last 7 meetings between these two teams in Tampa Bay and the underdog is 6-2 ATS in the last 8 meetings as well.

I get the Buccaneers being favored, especially at home, but the Bucs also didn’t look great against New Orleans in the opener with all of their newly-acquired talent in the lineup, and I’m starting to wonder if we’re seeing this superteam syndrome that tends to happen from time-to-time when these star-studded teams take the field and they don’t live up to expectations. I know it’s only week 1, but I’m not laying almost double digits with the Buccaneers just because and because of name recognition. Carolina has enough pieces to put up points to hang with the Bucs and I think the Panthers’ pass rush is more of a factor this week. Give me Carolina and the points in this one.