Buccaneers vs. Panthers Picks, Predictions Week 7: Can Bucs Bounce Back After Brutal Loss?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are tied for first place in the NFC South after a shocking upset loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week. Check out our top picks and the 3-3 Buccaneers look to bounce back against the hapless Carolina Panthers in Week 7.
Carolina enters this Week 7 rivalry clash after firing head coach Matt Rhule two weeks ago and trading franchise running back Christian McCaffrey this past week. Many are expecting the Panthers to already be focuses on the 2023 NFL Draft.
Meanwhile, the Buccaneers certainly need to get right in order to fulfill presumptive Super Bowl aspirations. Tampa Bay lost three of its last four games while taking a questionable win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 5.
Check out all our top NFL picks for Week 7, as well as our best bets!
Here are our Buccaneers-Panthers NFL picks for Week 7 (odds via FanDuel Sportsbook, DraftKings Sportsbook; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Buccaneers vs. Panthers Game Info
Date: Sunday, Oct. 23, 1 p.m. ET
TV: FOX
Location: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
Weather: 68 degrees, 0% precipitation, 6-mph winds
Buccaneers vs. Panthers Odds
Buccaneers vs. Panthers Odds Analysis
The spread has ballooned from a consensus opening line of Buccaneers -9.5. The Panthers' personnel changes have bettors backing the Bucs and the spread has grown to -13 as of Sunday morning. Tampa Bay has drawn 80% of the tickets and 81% of the handle.
The Panthers' changes and Buccaneers' disappointing play has dropped the consensus Over/Under from 41 to 39. Still, the Over has drawn 55% of the handle on 53% of the tickets.
Buccaneers vs. Panthers Picks
- Buccaneers -13 (-110 via DraftKings) ★★★★
- Under 39.5 (-110 via FanDuel) ★★★★
- Panthers team total: Under 14 (-116 via FanDuel) ★★★
Buccaneers vs. Panthers ATS Pick
Buccaneers -13 (-110)
Although the Bucs haven’t played their best football lately, the massive point spread is probably justified when you consider that they’ll be facing the worst team in the NFL on Sunday. Despite last week’s letdown in Pittsburgh, Tampa can probably cover this margin over Carolina, too.
The proof of concept came last weekend when the Panthers failed to cover a double-digit point spread against the L.A. Rams. It didn’t matter to the Panthers that the Rams came into last week’s game with 19 total points across their previous eight quarters. The 2022 Panthers are forgiving like that.
Though the only NFL team to have already fired its coach this season does get to play at home this week, that hasn’t really made a difference so far. Carolina is a league-worst 1-5 against the spread, including 1-3 ATS at home this season. Tampa has a pair of double-digit wins to its name this year. The team gets a third on Sunday.
Buccaneers vs. Panthers O/U Pick
Under 39.5 (-110)
Outside of a shootout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs a few weeks ago, the Bucs have been a bizarro-world version of themselves offensively. That Chiefs matchup was the only Tampa game this season to hit the Over. The Bucs are 1-5 overall on Overs this year.
So every Bucs game that didn’t involve Patrick Mahomes has gone Under. Quarterbacking the Panthers this week is … P.J. Walker? Could Baker Mayfield make it back? Does it matter? The Panthers, whose games have only cleared the Over twice in six tries, can’t move the ball enough to contribute meaningfully to this total.
It hasn’t just been that Bucs games have trended Under, but they’ve often been way Under. Sportsbooks are struggling to adjust expectations for a Tom Brady team. Even this week’s comically low number of 40? Yeah, the Bucs have only had one game see that many total points all year. Insanity.
Buccaneers vs. Panthers Prop Pick
Panthers team total: Under 14 (-116)
You thought the Bucs offense was going through it? The Panthers have broken the 20-point threshold just once since Week 1. Their 17.2 points per game this season ranks tied for 27th in the NFL.
To project fewer than 14 points for the Panthers would represent a new season-low for Carolina at home. In their last two home games, Carolina managed 15 points against the San Francisco 49ers and 16 against the Arizona Cardinals.
The Tampa defense allows 17.2 points per game, the same as the Carolina scoring average. After an embarrassing loss to Pittsburgh, the Tampa defense averaging 3.5 sacks per game (third in NFL) should be motivated to tee off on a Carolina offensive line that ranks in the bottom 10 in sacks allowed per game.
Where to Bet on Buccaneers vs. Panthers Picks
