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Week 16 Game Preview: Panthers vs. Buccaneers

Haason Reddick

Game Reset

  • Carolina Panthers (5-9) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-4)
  • Bank of America Stadium | Charlotte, N.C.
  • Sunday, Dec. 26 | 1 p.m. ET | FOX
  • Roster | Depth Chart

History: Carolina vs. Tampa Bay

Notable Connections

Panthers

Buccaneers

  • CB Ross Cockrell played for Carolina from 2018-19
  • QB Tom Brady and TE Rob Gronkowski played with Carolina CB Stephon Gilmore in New England from 2017-18
Table inside Article
Category Carolina Tampa Bay
Offense
Total Yards/Game 308.1 (29th) 402.4 (2nd)
Rushing Yards/Game 112.6 (16th) 97.6 (24th)
Net Passing Yards/Game 195.4 (29th) 304.9 (1st)
Sacks Allowed 36 (t-24th) 21 (t-1st)
Third Down Efficiency 35.4 (27th) 46.4 (2nd)
Points/Game 19.4 (25th) 29.3 (1st)
Defense
Total Yards/Game 294.4 (2nd) 333.6 (1st)
Rushing Yards/Game 115.6 (t-19th) 89.0 (3rd)
Passing Yards/Game 178.8 (2nd) 244.6 (20th)
Sacks 36 (t-9th) 37 (t-5th)
Third Down Efficiency 36.9 (8th) 38.3 (12th)
Takeaways 16 (t-21st) 25 (t-5th)
Points Allowed/Game 22.4 (16th) 21.9 (13th)

Stat Nuggets To Know

Team

  • Carolina has not allowed a TD on the opponent's first drive in any game this season, the only team in the league with that distinction. The last time a team went a whole season without allowing an opening drive TD was the 2016 Pittsburgh Steelers.
  • Carolina has 67 tackles for loss (t-7th) and 36 sacks (t-10th) this season.
  • In the first quarter, Carolina has a +49 scoring margin, second-best in the NFL. Carolina's average time of possession in the first quarter of 9:13 ranks fourth in the NFL.
  • Carolina is tied for sixth in the NFL with five strip sacks this season.
  • Carolina's duo of Haason Reddick and Brian Burns currently have 20.0 combined sacks. That ties for the most for Carolina through 14 games since Charles Johnson/Greg Hardy had 21.5 in 2012.

Individual

  • Since Week 10, Cam Newton's five rushing touchdowns are tied for third-most in the NFL. He could become the first QB in NFL history to rush for a TD in six consecutive games on Sunday.
  • DJ Moore ranks seventh in the NFC with 986 receiving yards, while his 10 receptions of 50+ yards are tied for most in the NFL since 2018.
  • Taylor Moton is tied for second in the NFL with just one sack allowed, while his PFF grade of 74.9 ranks sixth among NFC linemen.
  • Reddick is fourth in the NFC with 11.0 sacks, while Burns ranks third among NFC defensive linemen with 9.0 sacks.
  • Stephon Gilmore ranks fifth among all NFC cornerbacks with a PFF grade of 82.2.
  • Jeremy Chinn currently leads the Panthers with 98 tackles. His 214 career tackles are the most of any player from the 2020 draft class.

Milestones in Reach

Cam Newton

  • Needs one rushing touchdown on Sunday for his sixth consecutive game with a rushing touchdown, the most by any NFL QB in the Super Bowl era.
  • Needs six passing or rushing touchdowns to tie Steve Young (275) for 18th in the NFL Super Bowl era.

DJ Moore

  • Needs 14 receiving yards for his third-straight season with 1,000 receiving yards. Only Steve Smith (2005-08) and Greg Olsen (2014-16) have had three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons in franchise history.

Chuba Hubbard

  • Needs three rushing touchdowns to tie Fred Lane (7) for second-most among rookie running backs in franchise history behind Jonathan Stewart (10)

Haason Reddick

  • Needs one game with at least 1.5 sacks to BREAK the franchise record of five games with multiple sacks in a single season (Kevin Greene, 1999; Charles Johnson 2012)
  • Needs 4.0 sacks to tie Kevin Greene (1998) and Greg Hardy (2013) with the franchise record of 15.0 sacks in a season

Brian Burns

  • Needs 2.5 sacks to tie Thomas Davis (28.0) for eighth all-time in sacks in franchise history

Reddick/Burns

  • Need 3.5 combined sacks to tie Charles Johnson/Greg Hardy (23.5, 2012) for the second-most by a duo in a single season...Need 8.0 combined sacks to tie Lamar Lathon/Kevin Greene (28.0, 1996) for the franchise record

Jeremy Chinn

  • Needs two tackles to reach 100 on the season. He would become the third Panther (Luke Kuechly, Jon Beason) with over 100 tackles in each of his first two seasons, according to press box statistics.

Carolina is 25-19 all-time against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, posting a 13-10 record at home and 12-9 on the road.

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