Hello CSR! We’re wading into the final stanza of the Panthers 2025 regular season, and this week they’ll go round 1 of 2 against the Tampa Bay Bucs, in what could be their most (or second most) important game of the season. The Bucs held a firm grasp on the NFC South for much of the season, however after losing 5 of their last 6 games since their bye week, the Panthers are in striking distance for the NFC South crown. Of course, the Panthers failed to lock that up themselves with some head scratching losses of their own, so all the marbles are down in this week’s game. Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers offense will be looking to get right and rule this game, as they’ve had players like Mike Evans and Bucky Irving return in recent weeks. Let’s dive right into the matchup.
- Mike Evans is the priority for the passing game. Every year that I write these defensive previews, Mike Evans is consistently brought up. And for good reason, as he’s logged 118 catches for 1,695 yards and 14 TDs against them in 21 career games, per Statmuse.com. Panthers fans have been dealing with this guy twice a season since 2013, hard to believe right? Evans returned from injury this past week, logging 6 catches for 132 yards in a losing effort vs the Falcons. This is a prime game for Evans to continue his dominance over the Panthers, as Jaycee Horn is coming off another disappointing outing against the Saints, and the defense struggled as a whole to contain a significantly less talented Saints team (twice on the season, by the way). Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson have both had overall career seasons in 2025, so they cannot allow a bounce back game for the Buccaneers passing attack, and Mike Evans is the centerpiece.
- Limit Bucky Irving. The Bucs sorely missed Bucky Irving for the majority of the season with a variety of injuries. On the season, they are 21st in yards per rush and 21st in yards per game. They definitely lean heavily on the passing game, but not having Irving for 7 of their games certainly impacted that. Irving is a dual threat, and can hurt this team both as a rusher and as a receiver. With Baker Mayfield’s up and down play, a good stabilizer would be leaning on Bucky, Rachaad White, and Sean Tucker to safely move the ball down the field and keep Baker from taking too many hits or throwing risky passes. I think the Bucs will really try to funnel the game through their rushing attack, and if the offense can’t put up points more often than not, it could be a long day for this defense.
- Force some turnovers. This Panthers defense thrives on playing bend but don’t break defense and forcing opposing teams into making mistakes. It worked out well against the Rams, Cowboys, and Packers, all games they likely should have lost. However,...
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