This Sunday's Carolina Panthers Week 13 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers represents a bit of a clean slate for the 1-10 Panthers. Out is former head coach Frank Reich, in is interim coach Chris Tabor, Carolina's special teams coordinator.
A team doesn't get to 10 losses in 11 games because of one singular failure. But suffice it to say Reich's work with QB Bryce Young and the Panthers offense wasn't working to anyone's satisfaction, and it cost Reich his job. Now, Thomas Brown, the offensive coordinator who has already gotten a crack at calling plays once this season, will get to see if he can provide a spark to the offense. Having senior assistant Jim Caldwell around to guide Brown will help. Having the Panthers' roster won't.
The Buccaneers are no juggernaut themselves. But in the 2023 version of the NFC South, a 4-7 record puts you one win behind the division leader, and so, the stakes for Todd Bowles' team are more immediate. Baker Mayfield is enjoying a bit of a renaissance with the Bucs — a win here would thrust Tampa Bay into an ugly scrap for top billing in a division that currently features one team with a positive point differential (the New Orleans Saints barely cross the line at +7 for the season.)
Two ugly win-loss records and two different set of incentives will be on display Sunday. How's this one going to play out? Take a deep breath and jump into some Panthers Week 13 predictions below to find out.
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Carolina's offense explodes…
…relative to the rest of the season, of course. During their current four-game losing streak, the Panthers haven't exceeded 13 points in any game. Even in their Week 8 win over the Houston Texans, 15 points got the job done. So when we talk about Carolina's offense breaking out, let's say they muster an effort of 20+ points.
And why would we predict such a thing? Mainly because of the belief that a change in coach/play-caller will provide a spark. To be clear, this offense is utterly devoid of enough talent. It won't transform into a high-powered unit overnight. Again, Reich was a big problem, but not the only one.
But often, coaching changes do lead to short-term improvements. Never underestimate how players respond to having a new voice in the locker room. In that spirit, Carolina's offense under Brown and Caldwell might just show some new things on Sunday, which can really only be a good thing at this point.
What might one of those new things on offense be?
Bryce a factor in the running game
One thing that reportedly factored into the Panthers' firing of Reich was a request from the front office that went denied. Apparently some Carolina brass wanted to see Bryce Young utilized more in the rushing attack via the RPOs that Young found success with at Alabama. Reich was against tweaking his system in such a way.
With all the struggles Young is facing in the pass game, getting him on the move and out of the pocket might be a way to create some easy looks for him. RPOs also might open up some rushing lanes for Young to take advantage of to keep Bowles' defense honest.
With Buccaneers linebackers Devin White and Lavonte David both dealing with injuries, this might be a good week to let Young try some new things, including taking some keepers off RPO looks.
Young's biggest day running the ball was a 41-yard performance against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 9. That sounds like a reasonable benchmark to emulate.
Evans held scoreless
Tampa Bay WR Mike Evans has been finding the end zone with regularity this season. He's snagged a TD in eight of 11 games, including three straight games with at least one score.
Perhaps the one thing the 2023 Carolina Panthers do well is defend against the pass — they rank fifth in fewest passing yards allowed per game through 12 weeks.
So Evans might've had a difficult time to begin with, and that's before factoring in that the Bucs' number two wideout, Chris Godwin, is dealing with a neck injury and was limited at Thursday's practice. If Godwin struggles, the Panthers secondary can key on Evans even more.
Evans will still get his, but he may find it difficult to find pay dirt with all that attention on him.
Panthers squeeze past Buccaneers for second win of season
As mentioned above, it's amazing how teams often play better following a coaching change. Without meaningful changes to the roster, this is the same Panthers team that has lost 10 of 11 games without being competitive in most of them. But the wake-up call sometimes jolts a team into action for a week or two.
Unfortunately for Tampa Bay, this would be that week for Carolina. Maybe for a week, Young plays a little looser and resembles the quarterback who won a Heisman Trophy at Bama.
It just feels like the Panthers will find a way in this one. Worry about the rest of the season later. Panthers by three points.
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