Tampa Bay Buccaneers veteran quarterback Tom Brady struggled in their 38-3 loss to the New Orleans Saints that snapped their three-game winning streak and caused them to lose their grip on the NFC South leadership. Brady and the Buccaneers have a chance to return on the winning track when they take on the sliding Carolina Panthers on Sunday. The Panthers are an ideal opponent for the Buccaneers to bounce back as Carolina is on a four-game losing streak, including a heartbreaking 33-31 loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

For Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe, co-host of “Skip and Shannon: UNDISPUTED” on Fox Sports 1, the 43-year-old Brady could have a field day against the Panthers’ defense. “I believe he’ll be better,” Sharpe said of Brady during the latest episode of the program as transcribed by the author from its YouTube video.

Brady can find targets without pressure

Sharpe emphasized that the Panthers are the right team at the right time for Brady to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time this season with the Buccaneers as they are not known for their defense. The Hall of Fame tight end said the Panthers have 10 total sacks and 23 quarterbacks so Brady has a chance to survey the field and find his receivers.

“I believe this (Carolina) defense is set up for Tom Brady to have a big day so I don’t see him struggling like he did last week,” said Sharpe, a known Brady critic. Sharpe said Brady doesn’t perform well against the pressure, pointing out that the veteran quarterback has a completion percentage of 33 percent, good only for 32nd in the NFL.

Sharpe added that Brady also has 3.1 yards per pass against the pressure and he has QBR of 5. Against the Saints, Brady completed just 22 of 38 passes for 209 yards and no touchdown with three interceptions as he struggled to stay in the pocket due to New Orleans’ relentless pressure. In that game, the Buccaneers offensive line failed to do its job as it yielded three sacks and 12 quarterback hits.

Arians confident his team will bounce back

Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians on Friday told reporters that he’s confident that his team will bounce back from their embarrassing loss to the Saints when they take on the Panthers, whom they defeated 31-17, in Week 2. “I think we have great leadership, and when you have really good leadership, very seldom will you ever lose two in a row,” Arians said, per a report by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. According to Arians, the Buccaneers had an outstanding week of practice in preparation for the Panthers. The Buccaneers are a six-point favorite over the Panthers, based on odds by various betting entities. Various experts also overwhelmingly picked the Buccaneers over the Panthers, based on a story posted by the team’s official website.

Brown a mismatch for Panthers

In his first game for the Buccaneers since signing a one-year deal with the team, veteran receiver Antonio Brown only had three catches for 31 yards. Despite this, Panthers defensive coordinator Phil Snow said he liked what he saw in Brown’s performance and declared that he could be a matchup problem for his team, per a report by Schuyler Callihan of Sports Illustrated. Snow said Brown’s body is now getting used to playing and could pick up his performance in the second week since his return from an eight-game suspension.
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