The Tampa Bay Buccaneers go back on the road in Week Seven to take on the NFC-South leading Carolina Panthers, with a chance to even the all-time series between the two teams at 26 wins each. The Buccaneers are coming off a disappointing home loss to Pittsburgh in which they took a 16-3 lead into the third quarter but subsequently had difficulty getting off the field on defense and eventually fell, 26-19, in overtime. The most promising development from the game was a much-improved pass rush that recorded a season-high five sacks against Aaron Rodgers. The Buccaneers will be monitoring the status of quarterback Baker Mayfield, who has missed three games to a dislocated right thumb, to see if he will be able to return or rookie Jalon Daniels will make his fourth start. The Panthers moved to 3-2 and opened up a gap in the division standings with their 25-14 win in Week Six over a depleted Philadelphia squad, with Chuba Hubbard running for 120 yards and a touchdown.
Here are some additional numbers to know about the state of the Buccaneers and their upcoming game against the Panthers in Week Seven:
6
The number of games against NFC South opponents that the Buccaneers have remaining this season. This is the latest the Buccaneers have gone into a season before playing their first intra-division game since 2017, and that quirk in the schedule offers some hope that they can claw back into the NFC South race simply by handling their business in head-to-head matchups . The Buccaneers are also scheduled to play Atlanta in Week Eight.
8.2
David Walker's sack rate, meaning the percentage of pass-rush snaps that have resulted in sacks, after he had 2.0 sacks in 28 defensive snaps overall against Pittsburgh. Walker leads the Buccaneers and is tied for 10th in the NFL with 4.0 sacks, and his sack rate is the best in the NFL among players with at least 45 pass-rush snaps. With that same qualifier, Walker also ranks first in quarterback hit rate (12.2%), second in QB pressure rate (28.6%) and third in quick pressure rate (12.2%).
16.1
The average number of air yards the ball has traveled on passes targeting Bucs rookie wide receiver Ted Hurst, an outlier in a passing attack that has otherwise struggled to make connections downfield. Hurst has averaged 15.3 yards on his 11 receptions so far in 2026; no other player with double-digit receptions on the Bucs' roster is averaging more than 9.8 yards per grab.
22
The number of sacks allowed by the Bucs' offense, with Mayfield absorbing 13 in his three starts and Daniels taking nine in his three. That per-game average, if it were to continue for the remainder of the season, would result in 62 sacks, which would top the previous high number of sacks the Bucs have ever allowed in a season of 56.
22.2
The third-down conversion rate the Buccaneers have allowed in the first halves of their six games so far this season, with opponents succeeding on just eight of 36 attempts. Unfortunately, that number rises to 46.3%, or 19 of 41, on third-down tries by the Bucs' opposition in the second half. Against Pittsburgh, the Buccaneers allowed only two conversions in nine attempts through the first three quarters but were three of six in the fourth quarter and overtime, with all three conversions needing 10 or more yards.
136.0
The number of yards from scrimmage that Bucky Irving has averaged in his four games so far against the Carolina Panthers. Irving, who had a career-high 165 rushing yards and 175 yards overall in Dallas in Week Five, will be facing a Panthers' defense in Week Seven that 132.2 rushing yards per game, 27th in the NFL, and a league-worst 5.12 yards per carry.
309.8
The number of passing yards that Panthers quarterback Bryce Young is averaging in his ascendant fourth season, which leads the entire NFL. Young's production in 2026 has increaseddramatically in 2026 over his first three seasons, in which he had averaged 180.2 passing yards per game. Young has also thrown 11 touchdown passes against just two interceptions in five games so far this season.
