The Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered a narrow 26-24 defeat against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16, dropping them out of a playoff seed with just two games to go. Although the Atlanta Falcons surpassed Tampa Bay for the NFC South lead,

Our staff provides their predictions and analysis for Tampa Bay Buccaneers pivotal NFC South rematch against the Carolina Panthers in Week 17.

Tampa Bay has fought their way through adversity and found themselves with an 8-7 record ahead of Week 17. With two weeks to play, the Buccaneers have a pair of pivotal matchups that will play a key role in their ability to make an appearance in the postseason.

Paul's Prediction: A chance to dethrone the Atlanta Falcons from the NFC South's top spot awaits the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as Baker Mayfield has a prime opportunity to put his team in an ideal playoff position against the Carolina Panthers.

The Buccaneers opened between 7.5 and 8.5-point favorites with the line seeing minimal movement at most books. Tampa Bay is 9-6 ATS this season while Carolina is 7-8, but the Panthers have covered in six of their last seven. Both the Buccaneers and Panthers are among the best Over bets in the NFL with the Buccaneers 10-5 and the Panthers 11-4.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers let their control of the NFC South slip last week with a Sunday Night Football loss. However, they have a chance to put the pressure back on the Atlanta Falcons before their division rival plays on Sunday Night Football themselves this week.

T he Carolina Panthers will be visiting the NFC South rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers this afternoon in a rematch of their overtime thriller a few weeks ago. The Panthers were supposed