The Panthers couldn’t get out of the way of the Buccaneers’ freight train on Sunday.
The Bucs led 17-0 early in the first quarter, 33-6 at halftime and blew out the Panthers 43-13. It was ugly for the home team, which turned it over four times for 20 Buccaneers points and gave up a 2-point defensive conversion on a blocked PAT.
The Bucs are 2-5 and the Panthers 3-3.
Baker Mayfield returned after missing three games with a broken right thumb, but the Panthers’ ineptitude and the Bucs’ run game powered Tampa Bay.
The Bucs rushed for 258 yards on 49 carries, with three backs over 50 yards rushing. Bucky Irving led the way with 24 carries for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Kenneth Gainwell added 88 yards on 14 carries, and Sean Tucker had seven carries for 52 yards and a touchdown.
Mayfield was only 7-of-11 for 64 yards and a touchdown, a 14-yard throw to Tez Johnson.
Bryce Young threw two interceptions and lost a fumble on a strip-sack Al-Quadin Muhammad that Calijah Kancey returned 32 yards for a touchdown. David Moore muffed a punt that Ko Kieft recovered for the Bucs at the Carolina 18.
The Bucs had scoring drives of 14, 32 and 6 in addition to their defensive touchdown. They also had the NFL’s first defensive 2-point conversion of the season when Tykee Smith blocked Ryan Fitzgerald’s PAT attempt and Zyon McCollum returned it to the end zone.
McCollum also had one of the picks of Young.
Baker Mayfield is back, and apparently, so are the Buccaneers.
Tampa Bay crushed the Panthers in the first half, forcing three turnovers and scoring in every phase. The Bucs lead 33-6 at halftime.
Mayfield didn’t do much, but he didn’t need to with the Panthers self-destructing.
Bryce Young lost a fumble on a strip-sack by Al-Quadin Muhammad that Calijah Kancey returned 32 yards for a touchdown; Panthers wide receiver David Moore muffed a punt that Ko Kieft recovered for the Bucs at the Carolina 18, and Chase McLaughlin kicked a 22-yard field goal after Tampa Bay stalled at the Carolina 4; and Bucs cornerback Zyon McCollum intercepted Young just before the half, with his 18-yard return setting up Tampa Bay at the Carolina 32.
Tez Johnson scored on an 18-yard reception from Mayfield with four seconds left in the first half. It was Mayfield’s 200th career touchdown throw.
Even when things went right for Young and Carolina, they went so wrong.
The Panthers scored their only points on a 50-yard reception by tight end Darren Waller, but Ryan Fitzgerald’s PAT attempt was blocked by Tykee Smith. McCollum returned it for a defensive 2-point conversion.
It is the first defensive 2-point conversion in the NFL this season after teams combined for two all of last season.
The Bucs have 196 yards, and Mayfield is only 5-of-9 for 49 yards and a touchdown. Bucky Irving has 18 carries for 84 yards and two touchdowns.
The Panthers have 114 yards, with Young 7-of-11 for 95 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
The Buccaneers are running away from the turnover-prone Panthers in Carolina.
They have an offensive touchdown, a field goal and now a defensive touchdown.
Al-Quadin Muhammad had a strip-sack of Bryce Young, and Calijah Kancey returned it 32 yards for a touchdown.
The Panthers have only 30 yards, with Young going 4-of-6 for 26 yards, and two turnovers. David Moore muffed a punt that Ko Kieft recovered for the Bucs at the Carolina 18.
The Bucs had to settle for a field goal on the gift after stalling at the Carolina 4. Chase McLaughlin kicked a 22-yard field goal.
The Buccaneers have Baker Mayfield back, and they have a 7-0 lead over the Panthers after the first drive.
Tampa Bay took the opening kickoff and went 70 yards in 14 plays. Bucky Irving walked into the end zone for a 4-yard score with 7:22 remaining in the first quarter.
Mayfield is 2-for-4 for 23 yards in his return from a broken right thumb, which kept him out three games. Tez Johnson had a 19-yard reception.
Irving has 10 carries for 47 yards and a touchdown.
If the league office has a favorite team, it’s currently the Buccaneers. Every week, their games remain exciting because they’re undecided down to the end.
Tampa Bay has a current streak of 12 straight one-score games. Via NBC Sports research, it’s tied for the third-longest streak of one-score games since the merger.
The 1989-90 Chargers had a 14-game streak, and the 2014-15 Ravens had a 13-game streak.
The bad news for the Bucs is that they’re 3-9 in those games — and 1-5 on the season. They’ll get quarterback Baker Mayfield back today in Carolina; he missed three games with a dislocated thumb suffered in Week 3 against the Vikings.
The good news for the Bucs is that, since 2020, they’re 10-2 against the Panthers.
