A new Pewter Report Roundtable debuts every Tuesday on PewterReport.com. Each week, the Pewter Reporters tackle another tough Bucs question. This week’s prompt: Which Panthers player do the Bucs HAVE to stop in Sunday’s Week 16 game at Carolina?

Scott Reynolds: My Selection? Not Who You’d Think

Here’s what really irks me about the Bucs defense. It’s not just the star players like Drake Maye, Josh Allen, Matthew Stafford and Devante Adams that have torched Tampa Bay since the bye week. It’s guys you’ve never heard of stepping up and making plays that either produce key first downs, key touchdowns or literally win the game against Todd Bowles and Co. Bowles’ defense can make virtually anyone look like a star on any given Sunday – or Thursday.

Bucs CB Benjamin Morrison and Patriots WR Kyle Williams – Photo by: USA Today

It’s New England rookie wide receiver Kyle Williams catching a 72-yard touchdown pass against Benjamin Morrison. You know, the same Williams who has just five catches for 143 yards on the year. It’s Buffalo receiver Tyrell Shavers catching four passes for 90 yards versus Tampa Bay, including his first TD. The same Shavers, who has 12 catches for 188 yards on the year. It’s New Orleans receiver Devaughn Vele, who had five catches for 40 yards including some key first downs down the stretch, and Atlanta receiver David Sills, who had six catches for 78 yards, including a 21-yarder on fourth-and-14 on the Falcons’ final drive.

So in this week’s PR Roundtable some of my esteemed colleagues will write about some of the Panthers stars like Bryce Young, Tetairoa McMillan and Rico Dowdle. The guys I’m just as concerned about are the unsung role players that will surely step up and join the likes of the players I’ve previously mentioned. So for me, it’s backup wide receivers like Jimmy Horn Jr. and Jalen Coker and reserve tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders that scare me. It’s not just star players, backup quarterbacks and rookie quarterbacks that seem to shine against Bowles’ defense. It’s pretty much anybody – and everybody.

Matt Matera: Derrick Brown Could Disrupt Everything For Bucs

There are a couple of weaknesses on the Bucs and reasons why they have lost six of the last eight games and are in a tie in the NFC South instead of leading it. A glaring problem along the offensive line is the interior between Graham Barton at center, Mike Jordan at left guard and Dan Feeney at right guard. Going up against Panthers star defensive tackle Derrick Brown is a dangerous assignment in Sunday’s game.

Bucs C Graham Barton, LG Mike Jordan and RT Tristan Wirfs – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Its difficult to replace one starter on the offensive line, let alone two, and the Bucs have tried to do that all season long with several players missing time due to injury, including at tackle. But the interior at guard and center has led to more pressure being generated. Barton at center hasn’t improved the way everyone anticipated, and he is probably better suited to play guard rather than center. Yet the Bucs won’t budge on that idea.

Brown can wreck everything for Tampa Bay in this game. He dominates the interior and his having a great season, considering he only played in one game last year due to injury. This year he’s put together four sacks, 49 tackles and a forced fumble. He can slow down the run game that the Bucs want to establish and can make it difficult for Baker Mayfield to find passing lanes, too.

Mayfield is a smaller quarterback, so any pressure from the interior forces him to run immediately rather than hang in the pocket and make a throw. Stopping Brown must be at the top of the list for the Bucs if they want to win this game and Jordan, Feeney and Barton will need their best effort.

Adam Slivon: Rico Dowdle Must Be Stopped Before He Can Start Gashing The Defense

For a Bucs run defense that has failed to stop any running back over the past three games, their next challenge is against a Panthers team that loves to run the football. There is a reason their slogan is “keep pounding.” Leading the charge in that regard in Dave Canales’ offense is Rico Dowdle, someone plenty capable of popping off and having a huge game.

Bucs DTs Logan Hall and Vita Vea – Photo by: USA Today

Dowdle has proven to be one of the biggest bargain signings from last offseason, even though he was coming off a 1,000-yard year with the Cowboys. Although he didn’t become the Panthers’ lead back until Week 6, he is up to 978 rushing yards this season. That includes 206, 183, and 130-yard performances. What works in the Bucs’ favor is that the defense slowed him down last season when he was in Dallas, only giving up 23 yards on 13 carries. Getting back on track with that kind of effort could prove to be game-defining.

Among other issues, Tampa Bay’s front seven has been unable to contain any running back. From cast-off veterans, Day 3 picks, and especially top-tier rushers, they have gotten a taste of each recently and have failed to stop them. Containing Rico Dowdle would force a different game script relying on Bryce Young to beat them. While that requires a whole other set of defensive game planning, stopping the run game is critical in coming out victorious.

Bailey Adams: Bucs Need To Stop Bryce Young… If It’s Possible For Them?

I’d love to give you an answer a little less basic than the opposing team’s quarterback, but with what we’ve seen out of the Bucs defense this year and especially lately, the answer here has to be Panthers quarterback Bryce Young. The former No. 1 pick looked like he was headed for “bust” territory for a moment there, but former Tampa Bay offensive coordinator-turned-Panthers head coach Dave Canales has guided him to a turnaround that began last year, in some ways, against Tampa Bay.

Panthers QB Bryce Young and Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby – Photo by: USA Today

When these two teams met in Charlotte last December, Young threw for a season-high 298 yards and a touchdown on 26-of-46 passing while also running for a touchdown. The Panthers had the Bucs on the ropes, but Tampa Bay ultimately prevailed in overtime. Still, it was a big day for the former Heisman Trophy winner. And while the Panthers weren’t anywhere close in the return matchup in Tampa later that month, Young did finish that day 15-of-28 for 203 yards and two touchdowns.

Young has been a little up and down in 2025, but he’s been more up than down as the Panthers have gotten to 7-7 and into a tie atop the NFC South. He has completed a career-high 63.3% of his passes thus far for 2,500 yards and 19 touchdowns to nine interceptions. And in Carolina’s biggest wins of the year, Young has been dealing. He threw three touchdowns and one interception in a 30-27 win over the Cowboys, 448 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 30-27 overtime road win over the Falcons and again threw for three touchdowns and no picks in an upset win over the Rams, 31-28.

Couldn’t you see Young putting up another three-touchdown, turnover-free day against Todd Bowles’ defense on Sunday, especially after it was just beaten by a rookie in Tyler Shough two weeks ago and a 37-year-old in Kirk Cousins last Thursday? It feels pretty likely that a performance like that would lead to a Panthers win and a leg up in the NFC South race with two weeks to go. Tampa Bay can’t let it happen. If there’s anything left in this defense – sacks, sack-fumbles, interceptions, whatever – it needs to show up on Sunday.

Josh Queipo: Tet McMillan Eats Where The Bucs Struggle

Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, the Panthers’ first-round pick this year, has been one of the best in-breaking receivers in the NFL this year. His 425 yards on in-breakers is ninth in the NFL on such routes. That’s half of his receiving yardage this year. Where do the Bucs struggle most in the passing game? It’s in the middle of the field. After watching a similarly-sized Kyle Pitts Jr. run up and down the field to the tune of 11 catches, 166 yards and three touchdowns on Thursday Night Football, Panthers head coach Dave Canales has to be salivating at how he can unleash his star receiver.

Panthers WR Tetairoa McMillan – Photo by: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

McMillan, who is the favorite to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, is also subtly adept at creating yards after catch. Almost 30% of his receiving yardage this season has been after the catch despite maintaining an average depth of target over 12 yards. The Bucs defense has allowed the 1,297 yards after catch this year. That is the third-most in the NFL this year. Unless they have a specific and detailed gameplan for McMillan, he will likely carve them up as Pitts did last week.

McMillan’s blend of size and speed is a matchup nightmare. With Zyon McCollum on injured reserve, the Bucs should try and counter by having Jamel Dean follow him, use more dime looks to get better athleticism and speed on the field, flood the middle of the field and force Bryce Young to connect with McMillan and his other receivers outside the numbers where he is much less accurate. I have my doubts that Tampa Bay will.