NFL GAME PREVIEW

The Road to Miami (via London): Panthers get W

Charlie Mullen

October 12, 2019 at 6:55 pm.

LONDON — Tampa Bay flew into London very much under the radar as this weekend’s NFL International Series clash between the Buccaneers and Panthers is being dominated by one man.

Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey has started the season in unbelievable fashion with 866 total yards from scrimmage and is on course to finish the season with over 2,700 all-scrimmage yards.

McCaffrey’s total yardage at this stage of the season is the second most in the NFL since 1950.

But the Buccaneers will be confident of stopping the early season MVP contender when the two sides meet at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. After all, when the two teams met in week two, McCaffrey had the worst game of the season with just 37 yards on 16 carries and no touchdowns. Despite that rare off-day, McCaffrey averages 173.2 total yards per game and he will be confident of gaining the 134 yards needed to reach the 1,000-yard milestone for the season.

In the same stadium last week, Raiders RB Josh Jacobs ran for 123 yards which was the sixth highest total for a RB in NFL London games. Chris Ivory’s total of 166 yards for the Jets in their 27-14 win over the Dolphins in 2015 remains the most by a RB in London. After running for 176 yards last week against Jacksonville, McCaffrey will fancy his chances of setting a new record in London this weekend.

The Panthers have needed McCaffrey to be as productive as he has been given the terrible start they made to the season. Of the nine 0-2 teams, they are the only ones to have turned their season around with three straight wins. That itself is impressive, but what makes the achievement even more impressive is the fact their transformation has been achieved with back-up QB Kyle Allen under center. Cam Newton’s foot injury has proved to be a blessing in disguise for Carolina and Allen who has grabbed his opportunity with both hands.

Allen has yet to throw an interception and completed 66.6 per cent of his 90 passes. His passer rating of 107.4 has the former Houston College QB ranked fourth with Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes the only players with a better rating than Allen. If Tampa Bay can shut down McCaffrey and Carolina’s running game, then it will be up to Allen to pass the Panthers to victory. The Bucs are ranked second in stopping the run with an average 69.8 yards given up per game. But their passing defense is ranked 32nd allowing 323.6 yards a game and they failed to stop Saints’ back-up QB Teddy Bridgewater throwing four TD passes last weekend.

This will be the Panthers first ever visit to London while the Bucs have made the trip twice before, although they may not want to be reminded of those previous journeys. In 2009, Tampa Bay found themselves 21-0 down early in the second quarter to Tom Brady’s Patriots before going on to lose 35-7 at Wembley. Two years later, the Bucs were 21-5 down at the start of the fourth quarter and despite Josh Freeman leading them on two TD drives, Chicago held on to win 24-18. Will this weekend’s game be third time lucky for Tampa Bay? The way Jameis Winston is playing, the answer could be yes.

Winston’s game had gone off the boil in recent seasons, but under new head coach Bruce Arians, the QB seems to be enjoying the game again. In his last four games, Winston has thrown 10 TD passes and only two interceptions. If Winston and the rest of the Bucs’ offense can avoid turnovers, then they could leave London with a win that will improve their record to 3-3 – which would be the same as the Panthers.

The week two win for the Bucs was the fifth time in the last seven meetings with the Panthers that the game has been decided by seven points or less. This tussle in Tottenham could be another one-possession game and could come down to turnovers. Carolina leads the league in lost fumbles with seven and four of those have been lost by Allen. As long as Allen can hand the ball off to McCaffrey and the offensive line can punch holes in the line of scrimmage for this season’s most explosive player to run through, this should be a win for the Panthers.

ALL  |  NFL  |  College Football  |  MLB  |  NBA