On Sunday, the 2-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers get a belated start to divisional play when the 4-3 Carolina Panthers come to town. It will be the 34th meeting between the two teams in the regular season and a chance for the Buccaneers to make a move in the crowded NFC South race (more on the Bucs-Panthers series history).
Tampa Bay comes into its first intra-divisional match up of 2017 with a 2-4 record, two games behind the first-place New Orleans Saints. A trip to New Orleans looms in Week Nine, giving the Buccaneers a very real chance to quickly gain ground after three very close losses in a row.