Buccaneers @ Panthers
Tampa Bay bounced back in a big way from their embarrassing 38-3 loss to the Saints in prime time a week ago. The Buccaneers were down 14-7 and 17-10 at different points in the first half but roared back in the second half. The Panthers were outgained by over 350 yards and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater left the game in the 4th quarter with a leg injury and did not return. The Bucs’ did what they wanted on offense all game and the defense buckled down in the second half, allowing them to cruise to an easy 46-23 victory against their division rival Panthers.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Quarterback
Tom Brady: 28/39, 341 yards, 3 TDs, 1 sack | 2 carries, 2 yards, 1 TD
Even with how well Brady played and looked today, he still left some big plays on the field. He overthrew multiple receivers on deep 20+ yards downfield throws. It didn’t ultimately matter, as Brady and the Bucs’ were not challenged by the Panthers’ defense. Brady led the offense on nine straight scoring drives after Ronald Jones fumbled on the opening possession. All four of Brady’s touchdowns were inside the seven-yard line and that includes his 1-yard goalline plunge in the fourth quarter. Check out his nice strike to Evans at the end of the first half below in GIF form. Brady gets the Rams’ tough defense next week and will be a low-end QB1 or high-end QB2.
Oh Thank Evans.#FantasyFootball | #GoBucs| #NFL pic.twitter.com/7Mx3EIaXHW
— QB List (@TheQBlist) November 15, 2020
Running Backs
Ronald Jones: 23 carries, 192 yards, 1 TD, 1 fumble lost | 2 targets, 1 reception, 6 yards
Leonard Fournette: 8 carries, 19 yards | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 11 yards
After having an all-time low five total rush attempts last week against the Saints, the Bucs were able to correct that stat this week. Ronald Jones fumbled on the opening drive but it was encouraging that the Bucs stayed with him; he had plenty of space to run most of the day. Jones had a long 98-yard touchdown in the third quarter. It was very simple as the Panthers brought a blitz. The Bucs ran a dive play and Jones only had to break the safety’s attempted tackle and he was off to the races. He still continues to disappoint in the receiving game. He dropped a pass and fumbled on his other reception. Jones is a solid RB2 at the moment and Leonard Fournette seems like a flex play at best.
Ronald Jones goes 98-yards TO THE HOUSE.
Tied for the longest run in Bucs history. #FantasyFootball | #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/zPG203XpjH
— QB List (@TheQBlist) November 15, 2020
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Mike Evans: 11 targets, 6 receptions, 77 yards, 1 TD
Chris Godwin: 6 targets, 6 receptions, 92 yards
Antonio Brown: 8 targets, 7 receptions, 69 yards
Rob Gronkowski: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 51 yards, 1 TD
Cameron Brate: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 31 yards, 1 TD
Tom Brady got all of his stud receivers involved in this one. Each of these guys had great catches and were constantly moving the chains. Mike Evans had a sweet jumping touchdown in the back of the endzone over a defender. He had the “squeaky wheel” narrative coming into this one, with the coaches making a point of saying they needed to get him more involved. He had the most targets and Brady missed him on a couple of more big plays but his stat line was good anyway. Chris Godwin had a lot of shorter receptions with yards after the catch opportunities and he seems to have the highest floor of this bunch. Antonio Brown looked great in this one as well. He had multiple nice receptions and was overthrown on a deep ball where he was open. The tight ends weren’t too involved except in the red zone where Tom Brady found both of his guys for short, well-thrown touchdowns. Evans, Brown, and Godwin are all in the WR2/3 mix and there will be good weeks and bad weeks for each as there are a lot of mouths to feed here. I would feel confident about starting any of them in most weeks. Rob Gronkowski is a low-end TE 1 who is one of the better bets to score a touchdown most weeks (see his TD below).
Tampa Bay is pouring it on in Carolina.#FantasyFootball | #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/uwRIUFfdYd
— QB List (@TheQBlist) November 15, 2020
Carolina Panthers
Quarterback
Teddy Bridgewater: 18/24, 136 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 1 sack | 3 carries, 16 yards, 1 TD
P.J. Walker: 2/4, 12 yards, 1 sack
Teddy Bridgewater and the Panthers looked great in the first half. They moved the ball well and scored on three of their five first-half drives. Their only scoring drive in the second half was set up by a 98-yard kickoff return that got them to the 2-yard line and Teddy scored on a short run after that. Bridgewater was tackled low and sacked in the fourth quarter and hobbled off the field. He did not return after suffering a leg injury and P.J. Walker finished out the game. This was a classic Bridgwater game where he rarely threw the ball downfield and completed a lot of his attempts but for little yardage. There is a great matchup on tap with the Lions next week for whoever is under center next week.
Running Backs
Mike Davis: 7 carries, 32 yards | 5 targets, 4 receptions, 12 yards
Rodney Smith: 3 carries, 13 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 2 yards
Mike Davis did not get the full bell-cow role that he had when Christian McCaffrey was injured previously. He had only seven of 17 team carries and five of eight running back targets. Davis did injure his hand early in the third quarter but thankfully returned after a couple of drives. He seemed to not play on their last drive in garbage time as well. Davis looked good on his carries against this vaunted run defense. He just didn’t get the volume we expected with CMC out. He had two touches through three drives. There were also two other running backs plus the full-back and Curtis Samuel logging snaps in the backfield. He is just an RB2 as long as CMC is out because of this worrisome usage.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Robby Anderson: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 21 yards
D.J. Moore: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 96 yards, 1 TD
Curtis Samuel: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 8 yards | 3 carries, 4 yards
Ian Thomas: 1 target, 1 reception, 7 yards
Collin Thompson: 1 target, 1 reception, 1 TD
The receivers went the way of Teddy Bridgewater today. He was accurate and moving the chains in the first half and these guys were getting looks early and often during that time. Robby Anderson was only asked to catch short passes and D.J. Moore had the chunk plays out of this group. Moore was severely underthrown when he was wide open down the sideline and only had a 38 yard gain on the play. The next play he took a screen to the house for a 24-yard touchdown. Curtis Samuel was tasked with gadget type plays for the most part and lined up in the backfield on a number of plays.
— Kevin Taylor (@ktbeast918 on Twitter)