The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-1), propelled by a stellar defense (!?) and capped off by a late goal-line stand, collected their first win of the 2019 season, defeating the Carolina Panthers (0-2), 20-14, on Thursday Night Football.
Here are some tidbits we learned from last night’s game:
- Chris Godwin ready to become a star – Godwin collected 8 of his 9 targets for 121 yards and a touchdown in last night’s victory and now has 11 catches for 174 yards and two touchdowns on the year. Although Mike Evans is off to a slow start, he is still Tampa Bay’s No. 1 receiver. However, the line between WR1 and WR2 could begin to blur if Godwin continues to become a reliable target for Jameis Winston.
- Tampa Bay with a good defense? – Tampa Bay’s defense was stout all game, but was capped off by a brilliant goal-line stand, preventing running back Christian McCaffrey from scoring on a fourth-down direct snap to seal the dub. Carolina failed to reach the end zone against Tampa Bay’s defense, only scoring on four field goals. On the year, Tampa Bay has allowed only one (!) touchdown to opposing offenses and have looked really good. Is this a good sign moving forward for a defense that been historically bad in recent years?
- Cam Newton‘s shoulder still ailing – Newton collected 333 yards passing the rock, but completed only 49-percent of his passes and did not have a touchdown. After only one throw over 20 yards downfield in Week 1, Newton aired it out multiple times, including a 44-yard catch by Curtis Samuel. Although the receivers certainly did not help Newton with the dropped passes, Newton did not help himself with overthrows to open receivers. It was promising to see Newton air the ball out down the field, but there is no question the shoulder is not 100-percent and it may never be 100-percent again.
Photo credit: SI.com
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