Predicting the Carolina Panthers vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFC South clash

The Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will meet for the NFC South title. If the Panthers lose, they still have hope via an Atlanta Falcons win. Here's what will happen on Saturday in Tampa Bay.

Bryce Young will outduel Baker Mayfield again

For most of his career, Bryce Young has been outdueled by Baker Mayfield. The Buccaneers QB has been better, but the tide is turning. Lately, Mayfield has been awful, while Young has been pretty great, excluding the Seattle Seahawks debacle.

Mayfield has had one game with a QBR over 70 since October 12. Comparatively, Young has four in that span. And in Week 16, Young was far superior. He typically does well bouncing back from bad outings, and he's got a matchup with a porous defense he shredded once. Mayfield does not have as good a matchup, so look for Young to get the better of him.

Jalen Coker will shine

The Buccaneers aren't going to let Tetairoa McMillan beat them again, so expect them to bracket or double him all day. He will likely struggle to get going, but that's going to leave opportunities for Jalen Coker, who has shown time and again that he can take advantage of them.

He's the clear WR2 on this team now, and Xavier Legette is trending in the wrong direction. Coker will get one-on-one opportunities, and he usually excels in those. With McMillan being taken out of the play, Young will have to look more to Coker, and those two have excellent chemistry.

The defense will struggle

The defense had a terrific outing last time against the Buccaneers, but they're going to have a tough time replicating that. They will probably get Mayfield to turn the ball over once and he will probably continue struggling, but the rest of the offense won't.

The fully healthy trio of WRs should play well. Additionally, both Rachaad White and Bucky Irving (and maybe Sean Tucker) will run all over the Panthers. That was their game plan last time, and it didn't work, but I don't believe the Panthers will shut them down again.

Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard will be held in check

As bad as the Panthers' run game was last time against the Buccaneers, a bounce-back isn't likely. The Buccaneers' defense is struggling mightily, but they were able to shut Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard down last time.

Dave Canales will be insistent on using them, but it's not going to work like it often does. Expect Hubbard to do a little better, but neither will average over 4.0 yards per carry, and neither will have over 75 rushing yards, either.

It will come down to the last possession

The Panthers and Buccaneers are pretty evenly matched. The Panthers got the better of them slightly last time, and it is hard to predict anything but another really close game.

The Panthers will lose

There are so many reasons the Panthers can lose this game:

Defensive blueprint laid out by the Seahawks last week
Prime time and big game is not a good formula for the Panthers historically
The vast majority of the roster has never played a game this big
They're young, and the Bucs are the veterans who've been here plenty of times before
At some point, the win-loss alternating pattern has to end

That may be too much to overcome. Prediction: Buccaneers 27-Panthers 24

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