Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Carolina Panthers: Odds, Spread, and Total

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will look to get one step closer to clinching the NFC South as they battle the Carolina Panthers in this huge divisional matchup on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. EST.

The Buccaneers are 7-7 and first in the NFC South Division. They just lost to the Atlanta Falcons at home, 29-28. From start to finish, it was a close game and the Falcons went on a nice scoring run in the fourth quarter to complete the upset. Tampa lost in total yards 476-338 and in passing yards 365-250. The Falcons had the slight edge in time of possession and both teams turned the ball over once. The Bucs benefited from 125 yards of Falcons penalties, and they were 3-for-3 in the red zone. The Tampa red zone defense was 0-for-4 on stops. Mike Evans led the way on offense with six catches for 132 yards.

The Panthers are 7-7 and tied with the Bucs for first but don't hold the tiebreaker at the moment. They just lost to the New Orleans Saints on the road, 20-17. It was a close and low-scoring game and Carolina blew a 10-point second half lead. The Saints ended up scoring 13 unanswered points. The Panthers lost in total yards, 337-281, and in passing yards, 256-154. Carolina did win in rushing yards, 127-81. They lost in time of possession and the turnover battle, 1-0. They had over 100 yards of penalties and the red zone defense was 1-for-3 on stops.

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Note: The above data was collected on Dec. 19, 2025, and may have changed since writing.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Carolina Panthers

Tampa Bay is currently tied for 20th in passing yards, 21st in rushing yards, 16th in points scored, and 24th in points against. The Bucs have lost five of their last six games and are hanging on to that division lead. A win gives them a 94.0% chance of making the playoffs, while a loss is a 56.0% chance. The Buccaneers are favored to win because of their overall talent and historical advantage that they have over the Panthers, who have won nine of the last 10 matchups. Evans returned from injury last week and had a great game. Tampa needs to take care of the ball and use that plus nine turnover margin to their advantage.

Carolina is ranked 25th in passing yards, ninth in rushing yards, 28th in points scored, and 14th in points allowed. The last three games of the season are must wins for Carolina and these two teams will play again to end the season. A win gives the Panthers a 44.0% chance of making the playoffs, while a loss brings it to 0.06%. Carolina has been in a win-loss pattern for two months now and are still very inconsistent on both sides of the ball. Also, all seven of their wins have come as the underdog. They will need to take care of home field advantage and get the offense going early. Turnovers will be the key to victory and pressuring the quarterback.

Best Bet: Panthers Money line

Both teams just had games where they threw away the victory in the fourth quarter. The Bucs are getting healthy, but still finding ways to lose against teams they should beat easily or even barely beat some average to below-average teams. Carolina has snuck back into the playoff picture and will try to keep the off and on momentum going. In their last home game, they beat the Los Angeles Rams. So, Carolina can pull this off.