2012 Week 1 · Sun, Sep 9, 2012 · Raymond James Stadium
Carolina Panthers
10
at
Tampa Bay BuccaneersWinner
16
CAR -3 upsetU 45.5 ✓15 mph wind
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16–10. Played in 15 mph wind — weigh that when reading the passing lines.
Pre-2018 game — box score & context only; play-by-play visuals start in 2018
Who moved the needle
Top performers
Passing · CAR
23/33, 303 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
3.5 expected points added · +13.0% completion over expected
Passing · TB
16/24, 138 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT
-3.5 expected points added · +0.1% completion over expected
Full stat lines
Box score
Carolina Panthers
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cam Newton | 23/33 | 303 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3.5 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kealoha Pilares | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 0.6 |
| Cam Newton | 5 | 4 | 0.8 | 0 | -3.7 |
| Mike Tolbert | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | -0.5 |
| DeAngelo Williams | 6 | -1 | -0.2 | 0 | -3.6 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Smith | 7 | 11 | 106 | 0 | 33% | 2.0 |
| Brandon LaFell | 3 | 5 | 65 | 1 | 15% | 0.6 |
| Louis Murphy | 3 | 5 | 63 | 0 | 15% | 1.2 |
| Greg Olsen | 6 | 7 | 56 | 0 | 21% | 4.8 |
| Mike Tolbert | 3 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 9% | -0.9 |
| DeAngelo Williams | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3% | -0.0 |
| Kealoha Pilares | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3% | -1.5 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Beason | 7 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Hardy | 5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dwan Edwards | 6 | 1 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 |
| James Anderson | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charles Godfrey | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Haruki Nakamura | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Luke Kuechly | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh Norman | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Thomas Davis | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charles Johnson | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Passing
| Player | C/Att | Yds | TD | INT | Sacked | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Freeman | 16/24 | 138 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -3.5 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Martin | 24 | 95 | 4.0 | 0 | -3.4 |
| D.J. Ware | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 0 | 0.9 |
| Josh Freeman | 7 | 13 | 1.9 | 0 | 1.9 |
| LeGarrette Blount | 3 | 8 | 2.7 | 0 | -1.2 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Tgt | Yds | TD | Tgt share | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vincent Jackson | 4 | 10 | 47 | 0 | 42% | 0.5 |
| Dallas Clark | 1 | 1 | 33 | 0 | 4% | 2.0 |
| Doug Martin | 4 | 4 | 23 | 0 | 17% | -0.0 |
| Erik Lorig | 4 | 4 | 21 | 0 | 17% | -1.7 |
| Mike Williams | 2 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 13% | 1.1 |
| LeGarrette Blount | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4% | -0.3 |
| Preston Parker | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4% | -1.5 |
Defense (top contributors)
| Player | Solo | Ast | Sacks | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason Foster | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lavonte David | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ronde Barber | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 1 | 2 |
| Eric Wright | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Quincy Black | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Barron | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Aqib Talib | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Erik Lorig | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roy Miller | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerald McCoy | 2 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
Closing number vs result
Betting context
- Closing spread
- CAR -3
- Closing total
- 45.5
- CAR moneyline
- -161
- TB moneyline
- +145
Panthers closed -3 and lost outright — an upset against the closing number.
Total closed 45.5; the game landed 26 — under by 19.5.
Conditions and crew
Game environment
- Venue
- Raymond James Stadium
- Roof / surface
- outdoors · grass
- Kickoff weather
- 83°F, wind 15 mph
- Referee
- Jerry Hughes
- Rest
- CAR 7 days · TB 7 days
- Coaches
- Ron Rivera vs Greg Schiano
Division game — familiarity tightens these matchups; closing numbers tend to be sharper.
Wind at 15 mph is the kind that drags passing depth and kicking range — weigh it when reading the splits.