The Tampa Bay Buccaneers conclude their regular-season series with division rival Carolina Panthers in Week 17 and hope to clinch victory in Week 13 after an overtime win at Charlotte. The Buccaneers will almost certainly need to win the game to keep their goal of a fourth straight NFC South title in play. The Bucs and Panthers will kick off at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, December 29th at 1:00 p.m. To find out how to watch, listen and live stream the game, click here.

Many analysts are impressed with the recent performance of second-year quarterback Bryce Young and how the Panthers’ offense appears to be finding its feet under head coach Dave Canales. At the very least, though, one wonders how the young passer will fare against a Todd Bowles defense that has never been afraid to launch the blitz attack. Another expert noted that Carolina’s “revamped” pass rush has been much more productive in recent weeks. As remarkable as the Panthers’ offensive improvement was, NFL.com’s Brooke Cersosimo notes that the Buccaneers’ offense was even better, writing:

“(C)on that the rising unit can repeat last week’s performance and keep up with an offense led by Baker Mayfield that is close to average 10 points more per game? It’s going to be hard to do on the road, and it doesn’t help that Carolina’s defense is lagging in points allowed per game (29.9), rush yards allowed per game (175.2) and yards per carry allowed (5, 1) is in last place. I expect Todd Bowles’ team to be on a mission after last week’s crushing loss to Dallas that knocked the Bucs off the top spot. Tampa now has little room for error in the playoff race.

The Buccaneers are eight-point underdogs at home, but know from recent experience that they will have to play their best game to prevail against a still-struggling Carolina team. Still, the majority of experts believe the Bucs will do whatever it takes to keep their playoff hopes alive. This is what some of them say:

NFL.com – The Bucs are the pick for all five experts

ESPN.com – ESPN gathers a whopping 11 analysts to make a selection, and only one disagrees with Carolina

CBSSports.com – Pete Prisco believes Baker Mayfield will come up big in a Bucs win

USA Today – Jarrett Bell and five colleagues all agree the Bucs are getting a much-needed win

Bleacher Report – Six out of eight analysts expect Carolina to cover the spread

Pro Football Talk – Mike Florio and Chris Simms agree on Tampa Bay

Sports Illustrated – Two of six on the MMQB prediction team’s site with the visiting Panthers

Sports News – Vinnie Iyer is among four players who can keep up with the Buccaneers in most high-scoring predictions