TURNOVERS SEND BUCS TO DEFEAT AGAINST PANTHERS

The Carolina Panthers have struggled this year, in large part due to the high number of interceptions thrown by QB Jake Delhomme.  Now Delhomme is on the bench with a broken finger, and on Sunday the Panthers took advantage of another quarterback’s struggles to get in the win column.  Carolina played tough defense and took advantage of five Josh Freeman interceptions to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16-6.  Matt Moore won his 4th career NFL start despite mediocre numbers, with 161 yards passing and an interception.  Carolina upped their record to 5-7 while the Bucs slipped to 1-11.

NFL pointspread players also cashed tickets on Carolina as a -3 home favorite.  The Panthers are 5-7 against the number and covered for only the second time this season when favored.  The Bucs slipped to 4-8 against the pointspread.  The 22 combined points scored went UNDER the posted total of 40.  Carolina has gone UNDER in three straight and four of five, with 7 of their 12 games this year staying UNDER the total.  The Bucs evened their NFL totals record at 6-6.

After the game, Tampa Bay’s Freeman was his own worst critic:

"That's just completely unacceptable. I want to play in this league a long time. Guys that throw a lot of picks usually don't last."

Head coach Raheem Morris wasn’t quite as hard on his young quarterback:

"Up until this point, he had been really great in the red zone. Today, he just made some bad decisions.”

Despite their disappointing season, Panthers’ linebacker Brad Hoover said there’s more to play for than the postseason:

"We still have a lot to play for other than playoffs. There are jobs on the line."

Carolina will face a tough road assignment this weekend as they head to New England to face the Patriots.  The Panthers are a +13’ road underdog with the total set at 44.  They’ll return home to face the Minnesota Vikings the following Sunday before taking on the New York Giants on Sunday, December 27.  Tampa Bay will host the New York Jets on Sunday.  The game is currently off the board due to the injury to Jets’ quarterback Mark Sanchez.  They’ll then play two games on the road, making the long trip to Seattle on Sunday, December 20 before playing at New Orleans the following week.