Buccaneers: Tampa Bay in a ‘must-win’ situation vs. Panthers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a ‘must-win’ situation vs. Carolina Panthers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a major task ahead of them as they look to rebound following an ugly loss to the New Orleans Saints last weekend.

The Buccaneers will travel up to Charlotte this Sunday to take on the Carolina Panthers. Tampa Bay beat the Panthers 31-17 at home during Week 2 of the season, but will now be placed in a pressure-filled spot as they take on their NFC South rival for a second time.

If the Buccaneers win the game, they remain firmly in the race for the NFC South division and easily a wild-card spot. If Tampa Bay somehow was upset, though, you could be talking about a snowball spiraling out of control heading into the rest of November and December.

In short, though this game doesn’t seem like much, momentum is a powerful thing, especially during an NFL season. With things mounting up against the Bucs, we could look back at this game as the pivotal moment in the 2020 season– for good or for bad.

More than we understand hinges on this one for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Let’s assume the Saints win this weekend against the 49ers at home. They’re the favorites and should win considering all the injuries that have mounted against San Francisco.

That would mean New Orleans would be sitting at 7-2 following Week 10 of the season. The Bucs, who are 6-3, would still just be two games out since the Saints have the big tiebreaker following the sweep.

If the Bucs lose, though, you’d be talking about an almost insurmountable lead for the Saints and the wild-card race would be much less comfortable than what we’d like to say- just like that.

What are we talking about? The Bucs lose this one and they’re behind the Cardinals, Rams and likely the Bears in the wild-card race. That’s why this one is so important.

In a tight playoff race, you can’t lose games you’re expected to win and that’s why this one is a must-win for the Buccaneers as they head up to Charlotte.