Bucs build a 33-6 halftime cushion
Tampa Bay needed barely a quarter and a half to take this game away from Carolina. The Buccaneers won 43-13 in Charlotte on Sunday, and the damage was done on the ground and in the turnover column.
Bucky Irving set the tone with a 4-yard touchdown on the opening drive and added a 1-yard score in the second quarter, finishing with 106 yards on 24 carries. Defensive tackle Calijah Kancey then grabbed the headlines, scooping up a fumble forced by Al-Quadin Muhammad’s sack and returning it 32 yards for a touchdown. By halftime it was 33-6.
Baker Mayfield was back under center after missing three games with a dislocated right thumb, and the Bucs hardly asked him to carry the offense. He went 7 of 11 for 64 yards, throwing just nine passes before the break. His one touchdown, a 14-yarder to Tez Johnson, came with four seconds left in the half after a Zyon McCollum interception handed Tampa Bay the ball.
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Carolina buried by its own mistakes
The Panthers contributed generously to the rout. Bryce Young finished 14 of 27 for 163 yards with a 50-yard touchdown pass to Darren Waller, but he also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. Carolina gave the ball away four times and missed an extra point. David Moore’s muffed punt at his own 18 set up a 22-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin, who added a 44-yarder in the third quarter.
The Bucs finished with 258 rushing yards. Kenny Gainwell contributed 88 yards on 14 carries, and Sean Tucker broke a 46-yard touchdown run late to make it 43-6. Tampa Bay did all this without receiver Emeka Egbuka.
It was also the Buccaneers’ first NFC South game of the season.
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