Tonight’s Monday Night Football matchup pits two 1-3 NFC South teams struggling early on in the season. The Carolina Panthers will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with both teams looking to avert the course of their season towards the right direction. Both teams feature several integral pieces of their team either out or highly unlikely to play tonight.
Former Blinn College Juco All-America honorable mention, 2009 NJCAA National Champion and 2015 NFL MVP quarterback Cam Newton will be out for the Panthers with a concussion. This leaves Derek Anderson at the helm of the offense. With injuries in the backfield as well, former Pearland High School and University of Texas standout Fozzy Whittaker can be expected to receive a good amount of work as his workload has increased the past few weeks.
The Bucs are not expected to have two Pro Bowlers available in running back Doug Martin and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. Offensively though they will still have Ball High School and Texas A&M wide receiver Mike Evans available.
Evans has been a rising commodity in the NFL as the young receiver has posted back-to-back 1,000 yard receiving seasons and has accumulated 26 receptions, 360 receiving yards and three touchdowns in four games. Evans provides a big target for another young NFL talent in Jameis Winston.
With a number of pieces missing on both teams this matchup can swing either way, but with both teams on their heels early and it being between divisional opponents, it should provide a competitive game.
