The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will travel to Charlotte, North Carolina to face the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in a matchup of two NFC South rivals the game is scheduled to start at 1:00 PM ET on Sunday afternoon and will air on Fox in week 18 of the NFL season.

Tampa Bay enters this game with a record of 8-8 and is coming off a 13-23 loss at home against the New Orleans Saints in week 17 of the NFL season which also ended their four-game winning streak, however, the Buccaneers only need to beat the Panthers to win the NFC South and make the NFC playoffs. 

The Buccaneers have been a below-average team on offense this season as they enter this game averaging 21.19 points per game, however, they have one of the better passing offenses as they are averaging 231.06 passing yards per game and Baker Mayfield has had a solid season in his first season as the starting quarterback for Tampa Bay as he enters this game having completed 344 of 534 attempts for 3,907 yards with 28 touchdowns and ten interceptions while rushing for 156 yards and a touchdown. The Buccaneers have one of the better scoring defenses in the NFL as they are allowing an average of 20.31 points per game which is tied for the 9^th fewest points allowed. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will look to clinch a spot in the NFC playoffs and win the NFC South when they travel to face the Carolina Panthers.

The Carolina Panthers enter this game with the worst record in the NFL at 2-14 and are on a two-game losing streak following a 0-26 shutout loss on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars and will finish the season with the worst record in the league, however, they will not have the 1^st overall pick because they traded away their 1^st round pick to the Chicago Bears. Bryce Young and the offense for the Panthers have struggled this season as they enter this game averaging the 2^nd fewest points per game with an average of 14.75 points allowed per game while having the 2^nd worst passing offense in the NFL as they are averaging 167.06 passing yards per game. 

Bryce Young has struggled in his rookie season as the quarterback for Carolina as he enters this game having completed 304 of 509 attempts for 2,783 yards with 11 touchdowns and ten interceptions while rushing for 229 yards. The Panthers have also allowed the 3^rd most points per game in the league with an average of 25.44 points allowed per game. The Carolina Panthers will look to end their two-game losing streak when they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon in week 18 of the NFL season.

BookMaker has the Tampa Bay Buccaneers listed as 4.5-point favorites on the road against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon in week 18 of the NFL season. Tampa Bay has won eight of the last ten and two of the last three meetings. The Buccaneers are 7-3 ATS in the last ten while the Panthers are 2-1 ATS in the last three games in the series. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 10-6 ATS overall, 7-1 ATS on the road, 2-3 ATS as a favorite, and 2-3 ATS in division games this season while the Carolina Panthers are 4-10-2 ATS overall, 3-3-1 ATS at home, 4-10-2 ATS as an underdog, and 2-2-1 ATS in division games on the year.

Tampa Bay needs to win this game to make the playoffs this season and has been the better team in the series, winning eight of the last ten while going 7-3 ATS in those matchups. The Buccaneers have also been the better team at covering the spread this season with a record of 10-6 ATS overall while the Panthers are 4-10-2 ATS overall. Buy the .5 point and lay the points with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they travel to face the Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon in week 18 of the NFL season.