CHARLOTTE, NC (AP) — Tom Brady hasn’t been in that position for two decades — a game under .500 so far in the NFL season.
Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost for the third time in four games Sunday to fall to 3-4. It happened in breathtaking fashion, a 21-3 loss to the Carolina Panthers, a team that had lost 12 of 13 games and was playing with a third-string quarterback and under a head coach. acting
The loss left the seven-time Super Bowl champion searching for answers.
“Nobody feels good where we are,” Brady said. “No one feels good about the way we played or what we do. We’re all in this together and we have to get through this.”
Brady was 32 of 49 passing for 290 yards. One such incompleteness came when a wide-open Mike Evans dropped what would have been a 64-yard touchdown on the third play of the game.
Brady hasn’t had a losing record this far in a season since the 2002 New England Patriots lost four straight to fall 3-4. Brady has never been below .500 after eight games.
“He’s super competitive and I could see in his eyes that he was (upset),” Panthers defensive end Brian Burns said. “It’s great to keep the GOAT at three points.”
Bucs coach Todd Bowles said his team needed to “be grown men” and accept defeat and improve.
“We’re going to see how many people can handle adversity, and that’s about as bleak as it’s going to be right now,” Bowles said.
The win gave the Panthers something to celebrate — finally.
They arrived as 13 1/2 point underdogs, and many fans have already abandoned them, as evidenced by the thousands of empty seats at Bank of America Stadium. Earlier this week, management traded the team’s best player, Christian McCaffrey, to San Francisco in a move that signaled to many that the Panthers are pushing for the No. 1 pick next season and finally to land a franchise quarterback.
“It certainly wasn’t a team that was trying to do that,” Panthers interim coach Steve Wilks said after his first win since taking over from Matt Rhule, who was fired on Tuesday. October 10. “These guys here came together and they believe in each other. … There’s a lot of things we can build on today.
PJ Walker threw for 177 yards and two touchdowns for Carolina (2-5) in place of injured Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold. He is expected to start against next week in Atlanta, according to Wilks.
Tampa Bay’s defense allowed the Panthers to rush for 173 yards, just three days after McCaffrey left.
But D’Onta Foreman rushed for 118 yards, Chuba Hubbard added 63 yards and a touchdown, and the Panthers rushed for 343 yards on offense. Suddenly, the Panthers are only one game away from the Bucs and Falcons for first place in the NFC South.
Walker believes victory can galvanize the Panthers.
“You could just feel the energy as we walked into the building today, feel the vibe of us wanting to come out and play this game,” Walker said. “We talked in the meeting about making that leap. We did it today.”
The Panthers led 7-0 at halftime behind a 20-yard touchdown pass from Walker to DJ Moore. The Buccaneers couldn’t do anything in the first half after Evans juggled and then dropped Brady’s long pass when he was more than 10 yards from the defender.
“It’s a game,” Brady said. “There are also many other games. It’s never a room. That’s a lot of games.
The Bucs never recovered on offense and were limited to 46 rushing yards.
Carolina pushed a 14-0 lead after Foreman’s 60-yard run set up a 17-yard touchdown by Hubbard. Walker put the game aside with a 29-yard TD pass to tight end Tommy Tremble in the right corner of the end zone with 9:33 left in the game.
INJURIES
Buccaneers: CBs Antoine Winfield (concussion) and Anthony Chesley (hamstring) left the game in the second half.
Panthers: Hubbard left the game in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury. CB CJ Henderson left in the second half with an arm injury.
NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the Ravens on Thursday night.
Panthers: Visit the Falcons on Sunday.
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