{"id":104600,"date":"2026-01-03T20:30:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T20:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/104600\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T20:30:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T20:30:20","slug":"buccaneers-vs-panthers-prediction-nfl-week-18-picks-odds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/104600\/","title":{"rendered":"Buccaneers vs. Panthers prediction: NFL Week 18 picks, odds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\tGambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our links. Read our <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/betting-editorial-standards\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">editorial standards<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n<p>The Buccaneers will host the Panthers in Tampa Bay with the NFC South on the line to kick off <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/betting\/best-nfl-betting-sites\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NFL<\/a> Week 18.<\/p>\n<p>While at one point this season they looked like a shoo-in to win the division, the Bucs\u2019 season has fallen apart in recent weeks, and the collapse starts with their quarterback.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/12\/31\/sports\/todd-bowles-calls-out-baker-mayfield-with-buccaneers-season-on-the-line\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Baker Mayfield has appeared banged up<\/a> during the second half of the season, and his numbers suggest so as well.<\/p>\n<p>Over his last six games, Mayfield has averaged just 216.3 passing yards per game with nearly as many interceptions (eight) as passing touchdowns (nine).<\/p>\n<p>Those numbers are skewed by the 346 yards on 44 attempts Mayfield compiled last week, as the Bucs attempted to pull off a comeback against the Dolphins.<\/p>\n<p>Two weeks ago, Mayfield struggled against the Panthers, throwing for just 127 yards with an interception.<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"38080186\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP_Buccaneers_Dolphins_Football_31504-60cd1-0.jpg\" alt=\"Buccaneers quarterback Kyle Trask (6) prepares to throw the football.\" class=\"wp-image-38080186\"  \/>Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) throws a pass against the Miami Dolphins during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla. AP<\/p>\n<p>Tampa Bay took a run approach in that game, logging 33 total rush attempts, which were the fourth-most for the Buccaneers in a game this season.<\/p>\n<p>Carolina\u2019s pass defense has been quietly solid this season, allowing just 204.3 yards through the air per game, including fewer than 130 in each of their past two games.<\/p>\n<p>With the Bucs\u2019 season on the line, oddsmakers are still expecting a solid outing out of Mayfield, pegging his passing yard total around 225.5.<\/p>\n<p>Betting on the NFL? <\/p>\n<p>Since hitting that number five straight weeks from Week 3 to 7, Mayfield has gone under 225.5 pass yards in five of his last eight games.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m betting on him to fall short once again on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>The play: Baker Mayfield Under 225.5 passing yards (-120, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/article\/fanduel-sign-up-offer\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">FanDuel<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Why Trust New York Post Betting<\/p>\n<p>Dylan Svoboda is a versatile writer and analyst across many sports. He\u2019s particularly knowledgeable about the big three \u2014 MLB, the NFL and the NBA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":104601,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[4640,7600,119,16890,110,5775,5776,135,2964,137,136],"class_list":["post-104600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-betting","tag-carolina-panthers","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-betting","tag-sports","tag-sports-betting","tag-sports-picks","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104600\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}