The Buccaneers will be without their best pass rusher when they face the Panthers both times this season. According to a report by Adam Schefter at ESPN, defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul has been placed on the reserve/NFI list, so he is ineligible to play the first six weeks of the season.
Carolina will be facing Tampa Bay twice during that time-frame. First, they host the Buccaneers Week 2 on Thursday night, a short turnaround from their season opener against the Rams. Then, Week 6 they travel to London to take on Tampa in the “road” game.
Last season, JPP led the Bucs with 12.5 sacks, nearly twice as many as any other Buccaneers defender. Their No. 3 sack leader – defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (six sacks in 2018) – is now in Carolina.
Jameis Winston should in theory take some big strides under new head coach Bruce Arians. However, there’s a good chance the Bucs will continue to struggle against the Panthers. They have lost nine of the last 12 meetings.
