Jordan Gross #69 of the Carolina Panthers during their game at Bank of America Stadium on December 1, 2013 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Streeter Lecka/Getty ImagesAfter the Carolina Panthers traded away arguably their best player in Christian McCaffrey, trading Robbie Anderson, and having their starting QB (Baker Mayfield) out with injury no one really thought they stood a chance against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Behind big games from PJ Walker, Chuba Hubbard, and D'Onta Foreman the panthers did enough offensively to get a win behind a strong defensive performance also.
Walker, who started his second game of the season, took what the defense gave him throughout the afternoon, and didn’t make any crucial mistakes. He looked much sharper than he did a week ago against the Los Angeles Rams, and offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo turned loose the reins some.
The 27-year-old completed 16 of 22 passes for 177 yards and a pair of touchdowns - one from 20 yards out to D.J. Moore, and another from 29 to tight end Tommy Tremble. Both were perfectly-thrown balls. Foreman and Hubbard picked up the slack in the running game, stepping up nicely following the trade of McCaffrey. Cornerback Donte Jackson led the team in tackles against the Bucs, finishing the game with 10.
