Tampa Bay @ Carolina preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 7, 2014 ) Carolina 20, Tampa Bay 14

The playoff hopes of the Carolina Panthers took a big hit when quarterback Cam Newton’s truck rolled over in Charlotte on Tuesday. The Panthers will give Derek Anderson the start at quarterback when they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. The Buccaneers are the lucky winners of the only two games Newton did not start this season after Anderson faced Tampa Bay in the opener while Newton was recovering from a rib injury.

Carolina is a half-game behind Atlanta and New Orleans in the wide-open NFC South and coach Ron Rivera indicated that Newton, who suffered a pair of fractures in his lower back during the crash, would be evaluated on a week-to-week basis. “We're back to square one like we were this summer with the rib injury,” Rivera told reporters. “It's about what he tells the doctors, what the doctors observe. He's very tough-minded, a very tough-willed young man.” The Buccaneers have their own questions at quarterback with Josh McCown struggling and Mike Glennon waiting on the sidelines.

TV: 1 p.m. ET, FOX. LINE: Panthers -3. O/U: 41

ABOUT THE BUCCANEERS (2-11): Tampa Bay has dropped three straight games and is still looking for its first division win but was not officially eliminated from contention for the division title until last week. The Bucs have scored 17 or fewer points in each of the last seven losses and McCown is completing 51.7 percent of his passes with five interceptions and three touchdowns during the three-game slide, but still has the support of head coach Lovie Smith. “Josh is our quarterback,’’ Smith told reporters. “He gives us the best chance to win.’’

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (4-8-1): Newton was coming off an NFC Player of the Week nod after throwing for three TDs and rushing for another in a 41-10 win at New Orleans that snapped a six-game losing streak. Anderson has plenty of starting experience, most notably in stints with Cleveland and Arizona, and carved up Tampa Bay by going 24-of-34 for 230 yards, two TDs and no interceptions in the 20-14 Week 1 victory. “He's a veteran quarterback,” Rivera told reporters. “He's been through this before. He understands. He's had success as a quarterback in this league, and he got a sense of who Tampa Bay is by playing against them in Week 1.”

EXTRA POINTS

1. Joe Webb, who had been playing wide receiver, was moved to backup QB by the Panthers.

2. Tampa Bay WR Vincent Jackson needs 139 yards for his sixth 1,000-yard campaign.

3. Carolina has taken three straight in the series.

PREDICTION: Panthers 24, Buccaneers 17