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Carrie Stroup here with your Carolina Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Bucs betting odds.
The Carolina Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Bucs line opened anywhere between -1 ½ and -3 points in favor of the Buccaneers. Now the line is anywhere between -1 and -1 ½.
Sagarin has Carolina able to win here by 1 ½ points. It's an important consideration when the line is under -2 favoring the opposing team.
The away team has won 7 of 10 in this series. Carolina has won 8 of the last 10. Now we want to caution that their two losses were by 10 or more points and within the last three years. Both times Tampa Bay was an away dog.
The Panthers are 6-1-1 ATS in their last 8 games overall and 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 vs. NFC as well as 7-3 ATS in their last 10 vs. NFC South. The Buccaneers, however, are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 vs. NFC South. They are also 11-5 ATS in their last 16 vs. NFC and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games following a straight up loss.
The Panthers (4-1) lead the division thanks to one of the NFL's best defenses, which has held opponents to five touchdowns the last four games and 268.6 yards per game overall-fourth-best in the NFL.
Carolina hasn't allowed a touchdown in its last nine quarters, shutting out the Kansas City Chiefs 34-0 last Sunday after limiting the Atlanta Falcons to three field goals in a 24-9 victory on Sept. 28. Still, defensive end Julius Peppers doesn't think the team's done anything special yet.
"We're taking care of the things we should be taking care of going into the sixth week of the season," said Peppers, who got his third sack of the year Sunday to surpass the 2 1/2 he had in his abysmal 2007. "I only see us getting better from here."
Simply put, we can't pass up the head-to-head history here and the Panthers winning 8 of 10 when one considers how good this Carolina team is looking thus far. They have only lost on the road against a desperate Vikings squad. Last week, Carolina was very good to us as we picked them to win against Kansas City, and they ran away with it.
Keep in mind, we don't even know who is starting for Tampa Bay this weekend. If it's Brian Griese, his right elbow could still be sore from last week‘s injury that forced him to leave the game in Denver.
Place your bets at Sportsbook.com
