Friday, 4 a.m.
For the Tampa Bay Bucs, this qualifies as a trap game. The trappiest, perhaps.
The Carolina Panthers have lived in the cellar for a while now. They’re stuck with a disappointment at quarterback. They have pretty much given away Christian McCafferty and Baker Mayfield in recent seasons. They’ve lost seven of their last eight to the Bucs.
So they pose no threat?
Actually, they do.
The Panthers battled the world champion Kansas City Chiefs to the wire last week. Before that, they beat the Saints and the Giants for a two-game winning streak. They’ve scored 70 points in the last three weeks.
So, yeah, the Panthers have a puncher’s chance at home on Sunday.
For the Bucs, the best thing going is that they haven’t slipped against a lesser opponent very often.They’ve had plenty of offense, boosted by running back Bucky Irving and Mayfield.
But the Bucs aren’t very hard on opposing quarterbacks. They’re 29th in the NFL in opposing quarterback ratings. Too often, they have to blitz to get any pass rush, which in turn exposes the secondary. If the Panthers can get off to a good start, they could give the Bucs fits.
Prediction: Tampa Bay 24, Carolina 23.
In other NFL games:
Kansas City 30, Las Vegas 14.
L.A. Chargers 28, Atlanta 21.
L.A. Rams 26, New Orleans 17.
Cincinnati 33, Pittsburgh 27.
Buffalo 31, San Francisco 21.
And in the college games:
USF 28, Rice 13.
Florida 35, FSU 17.
Miami 37, Syracuse 14.
Ohio State 27, Michigan 20.
Alabama 27, Auburn 20.