Sir Purr
Well-known member
- Mar 16, 2019
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Protect Bridgewater Better
Burns and fellow defensive end Marquis Haynes lead the Panthers with 3.0 sacks each. The Bucs have four players with at least 4.0 sacks (Jason Pierre-Paul - 6.5, Devin White - 5.0, Shaquil Barrett - 4.0, Ndamukong Suh - 4.0).
Half of Suh's sacks this season came in Week 2 against Teddy Bridgewater and the Panthers, who allowed a total of five sacks and 23 pressures.
"There were a lot of things that we didn't do well, especially up front protecting the quarterback," head coach Matt Rhule said this week.
The Bucs blitzed a bunch in that first matchup, and they likely will again looking to take advantage of a Panthers' offense that's allowed QB pressure on 33 percent of pass attempts during this current four-game losing streak.
In their six losses this season, the Panthers have allowed 16 sacks. In their three wins, they've allowed two. So, yeah, it'll be imperative to slow down Tampa Bay's fierce pass rush, which is averaging more than three sacks per game.
Protect Ball Better
In Week 2, a Bridgewater interception and strip-sack on consecutive drives put the Panthers in a 14-0 hole just over 10 minutes into the game. Still, the Panthers rallied to make it 21-14 before Bridgewater threw his second pick and committed Carolina's fourth turnover early in the fourth quarter.
So as sloppy as the Panthers played for a bulk of their first meeting with the Bucs, they should take solace in the fact that it was a game they could have won. Staying turnover-free Sunday will give them that much better of a shot.
In their six losses this season, the Panthers have a negative-two turnover differential with negative-3 points off turnovers. In their three wins, that flips to a plus-five turnover differential with plus-15 points off turnovers.