CHARLOTTE— All Robert Hunt had to hear was "the last time you played Tampa" before his reaction took over.

"I hated that game," the offensive lineman immediately reacted. "That game was terrible. I hated that game. I hate that question."

Apologies to Mr. Hunt. But as the Panthers (4-11) prepare to travel to Tampa for the weekend and take on the Buccaneers (8-7) for the back-half of the series, the first game will inevitably come up a few times. The first game was an overtime thriller that the Panthers were set up to win before an uncharacteristic fumble by Chuba Hubbard in overtime gave Tampa Bay back the ball and the win.

"Losing those type of games are like, that feeling is, I'm trying to see how to put this," Hunt pondered. "So like winning feels really good, right? Losing those is a different feeling.

"I love winning. I want to win every day, but I don't know, losing that game right there really just effects what your mood. Like it feels worse like than anything."

While athletes are better than anyone at compartmentalizing a game and moving on, the Panthers do have a chance to redeem said loss this weekend. It won't be easy, as the Bucs offense is clicking and the team will be extra motivated, needing a win to stay in playoff contention. Carolina has chance to play spoiler for the second week in a row though—"That'd be a good one. And our division, so that'd probably feel better than the Cardinals," Jadeveon Clowney laughed—and lay another foundational piece for the future.

"It's a whole new game that doesn't entitle us anything," quarterback Bryce Young said. "We have a ton of respect for them, you know, they're a winning team. They know what it takes to win, so we know it's going to take everything."

Here are the five things to watch for on Sunday.

BY9

Bryce Young has received a lot of nicknames in recent weeks—some of which are catchy but not fit for print—most of them relating to his improved play, noticeably confidence boost and propensity for making waves in his opponents organizations following each game.

It's made for appointment viewing, seeing what this former No. 1 overall pick will do week-to-week as he comes into his own in the league. In typical Bryce fashion, he admitted to the confidence boost this week, but gave the credit to the entire offense.

"We're definitely confident, have confidence in each other," Young said, "but again that confidence doesn't give us any points on Sunday. We're confident in what we can do, but we have to earn the right to do it again.

"Have a ton of respect for the Bucs, a really good unit on defense, so we have to be at our best. We know what we're capable of, but we have to earn the right to be able to perform and execute that on Sunday."

Sunday will feature not only former No. 1 overall picks and Heisman winners facing off, it will feature two passers who experienced a resurgence under Dave Canales. For the coach though, the face-off between Young and Mayfield and what the two could possibly do is not about him.

"To me the credit goes to these men," Canales said this week after recapping his time with Mayfield and looking to Young. "It goes to guys who are committed to excellence. It's all about these quarterbacks, it's all about Bryce, the courage to just continue to improve his game to stay with it, to grow. To take in the concepts, to own it, to make really great decisions, to verbalize the things he likes and he doesn't like as we go through the week.

"It's a willingness for these guys to be vulnerable, it's a willingness for these guys to work at it, and to be able to believe that they have greatness, to believe that they can have success and they can do these things. And and so I just got to pay attention; pay attention to the things they're telling me verbally and nonverbally and then try to just make sure that we incorporate that part into what we're doing."

A thin defense vs. a stout run game

The Panthers front-seven has been spread as thin as it can be this season, taking another hit this week with the news starting middle linebacker Josey Jewell (concussion/quadriceps) would be out. Jewell has been a steady veteran presence in the middle, calling the plays for the defense and becoming the second leading tackler with 97 tackles in 12 games.

In his absence, Ejiro Evero and crew will turn to Chandler Wooten, who returned to the facility on Tuesday as a part of the active roster (he had been on the 49ers practice squad for the past week).

Wooten appeared in three games for the Panthers earlier this season, including against Washington when he played 74 percent of the defensive snaps and finished with six tackles. He will wear the green dot and call plays for the defense, a decision Canales indicated was made due to his familiarity with the system having spent 2023 in Carolina as well.

"When you play a a type of scheme, there's things that people try to challenge you with," Canales explained. "And so it's about getting those guys up to speed on like, in these different situations here's what they're trying to attack. So getting all that communicated and being ready for all the different variables is the greatest challenge."

No matter who is on the field, their work will be cut out facing a Bucs offense that is humming through the air and on the ground. For this point, we're focusing on the latter. Tampa Bay is seventh in the league, averaging 143.7 yards per game on the ground, riding rookie Bucky Irving's 61.3 yards per game. The running back also has seven rushing touchdowns.

According to Next Gen Stats, Irving has generated +140 rushing yards over expected this season, the most by any rookie running back and +60 more than the next closest player (Isaac Guerendo, +80). Irving has recorded at least +10 yards over expected in five straight healthy games since Week 10 (left in 2nd quarter of Week 14 with injury). Across all carries, Irving has gained 4.5 yards after contact per carry, the most in the NFL this season (min. 100 carries). Irving has forced a missed tackle on 36.8% of his touches this season, the highest rate in the league (min. 100 touches).

The Panthers defense is last in the league in that category, allowing an average of 175.2 rushing yards per game.

Shake and Bake

As if the Bucs rushing attack wasn't enough to deal with, their passing attack is third in the league, averaging 246.1 yards per game. Baker Mayfield is third in the league with a 70.9 completion percentage, and sixth overall with a rating of 103.5.

The Panthers can potentially affect Mayfield though by focusing on the quick game. Mayfield and the Bucs offense utilizes screens and swings behind the line of scrimmage to get the ball out quick.

According to Next Gen Stats, Mayfield has thrown for 1,664 yards (fourth-most) and 17 touchdowns (T-most) on passes with a time to throw under 2.5 seconds this season. Mayfield has attempted a quick pass at a career-high rate in 2024 (49.4%, 5th-highest in NFL), resulting in a 2.66 seconds average time to throw, the quickest in his career and the 3rd-quickest in the league.

Mayfield has attempted a pass behind the line of scrimmage on 24.5% of his attempts this season, the fourth-highest rate in the NFL and the highest rate in his career. Mayfield has thrown for 916 yards on passes behind the LOS in 2024, the most in the league and 122 more than the next closest player (Patrick Mahomes, 794).

Like Mike

Mayfield's favorite target is, of course, Mike Evans. Despite missing three games with a hamstring injury, Evans is still tied with Cade Otton for the most targets amongst all receivers with 87 total. He'll pulled in 57 receptions for 818 yards and even with the missed games, still has a chance to put together an 11th straight season surpassing 1,000-yards.

Evans is due to receive even more targets this week, with both Otton (knee) and receiver Sterling Shepard (hamstring/foot) listed as out for Sunday.

Stopping Evans will come down to a secondary that could be somewhat piece-mealed. For most of the season, Evero's group has been remarkably consistent. Xavier Woods is one of only four players to play 100% of their team's defensive snaps this season. Cornerbacks Mike Jackson (98.8%, fourth-highest) and Jaycee Horn (97.6%, ninth-highest) have both played over 95% of the total snaps, 2 of only 11 such corners.

But Horn (hip) did not practice all week and is officially listed as doubtful.

"We'll check in with him," Canales said of the plan with Horn over the weekend. "Of course we'd love to have Jaycee out there so we'll check in with him again one more time in the morning (Saturday) to see where we're at, and then if not we have other guys who've been taking the reps for him this week."

Chau Smith-Wade (illness/chest) is officially out, meaning Dane Jackson will slot back into the nickel position.

"He's had his opportunities this year, you know, so this will be another great one for Dane to get in there and show what he can do," Canales said of Jackson.

With Jackson taking the reps inside, there lies the possibility of seeing younger guys on the field at outside corner, something Canales sees a silver lining in near the end of the season. If Horn is available though, all of these questions are moot.

"We'd love to see a Akayleb Evans, would love to see Shemar Bartholomew as well," Canales shared. "So we're kind of going through that, and again it's gonna be all based on the availability of Jaycee."

Receiver room shaping up again

The Panthers received good news this week, as rookie receiver Xavier Legette (hip/wrist) was able to practice all week, albeit in a limited role at times.

"It was really just like each day just going through the volume that we asked of him and then he kind of crushed those days," coach Dave Canales shared Friday. "And then had a great practice yesterday which was like our full speed kind of normal practice day."

Legette was a full participant on Tuesday and limited on Thursday and Friday, but with what he was able to show, coaches feel comfortable with him playing, despite his "questionable" game status.

"Today was a little modified, but he handled yesterday great," Canales continued. "Bounced back today with another solid day, so really excited to get him back out there."

Fellow rookie Jalen Coker only saw two receptions for eight yards last week against the Cardinals, but continues to do a lot with a little, ready to perform in weeks were the ball finds him. According to Next Gen Stats, Coker leads the Panthers in receiving yards over expected (+123) and yards after the catch over expected (+70) this season, despite only playing 35.2% of the Panthers offensive snaps. Coker's +123 RecYOE are the 4th-most among all rookies in 2024.

With the receiver room in flux in recent weeks, Carolina has turned to David Moore—who had 39 yards and a touchdown on two catches against the Cardinals—and fourth-year receiver Dan Chisena.

"He's done a fantastic job just being ready to go," Canales said this week of Chisena. "A guy that gives us some speed. He can stretch the field, he's had a couple of targets, and made the most of them: a big 3rd down catch in the game, and then he plays special teams, he can cover kicks as a gunner…he's making the most of this opportunity and showing us what he can do."

Here comes the Boone (update: 1:50 p.m.)

A sixth thing to watch and honorary mention after breaking news on this Saturday: keep an eye on Mike Boone and Raheem Blacksheartaking on the running back reps. Chuba Hubbard was placed on injured reserve on Saturday with a calf strain. Boone was added to the active roster in response. Blackshear primarily handles return duties but has been a trusted backup this season.

Boone has seven carries for 22 yards in four games. Blackshear has three carries for 13 yards.

Leaning on the run game, even without Hubbard, may be necessary on Sunday. There is a 50 percent chance of rain at kickoff and during the game.