Tampa Bay Buccaneers DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (ankle) put together a less than ideal performance against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. The expectation was that Mayfield would bounce back here against the struggling Panthers secondary. That didn't really happen as Mayfield completed 21-of-33 passing attempts for 235 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions in the win. The Panthers pass rush got to Mayfield four times and one time forced him out of the contest briefly due to an ankle injury. It'll take more than that to take down Mayfield as he returned to the contest to help his team get the overtime win. If healthy, Mayfield should be a QB1 for next week's matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Chase McLaughlin has been one of the more consistent kicking options this season. Last week, McLaughlin knocked down his only field goal attempt and made three-of-four extra point kicks in the win over the New York Giants. The Bucs offense has been finding the end zone so frequently that McLaughlin hasn't needed to kick many field goals lately. In fact, McLaughlin has only five field goal attempts over his last four games. The Bucs offense should continue rolling against the Carolina Panthers in Week 13. Fantasy managers shouldn't expect a huge game from McLaughlin, but he should be able to produce enough value worth streaming him this weekend.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Cade Otton was helping carry the load on offense while wide receiver Mike Evans was sidelined. Last week, Evans made his return to the field and Otton saw his workload take a significant hit. The third-year tight end was able to haul in one of his three targets for 30 yards in the win over the New York Giants. The expectation is that Otton is going to see his value decrease with Evans back in the mix. However, Otton has shown he's capable of being a legitimate contributor, so he should still remain in the offensive gameplan. Fantasy managers should expect a bounce back outing from Otton against the Carolina Panthers this weekend. Although, fantasy managers should keep their expectations in check as his eight-catch games are probably behind him now.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Sterling Shepard was expected to take a backseat in the passing game last week. However, Shepard actually saw a season-high seven targets during the win over the New York Giants. He hauled in five of those targets for 16 yards, which is a bummer for fantasy managers. The return of fellow wideout Mike Evans will likely take away most of the fantasy value from Shepard. For now, fantasy managers can keep Shepard as a low-end flex option because the seven targets is a promising look. However, there should be better options available to stream ahead of Sunday's Week 13 games. Shepard might be able to surprise everyone against a struggling Carolina Panthers defense.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans made his return to the field during last week's game against the New York Giants. Evans looked solid as he hauled in five of his six targets for 68 yards in the win. It didn't appear that Evans and quarterback Baker Mayfield lost any chemistry during the three-game absence. Fantasy managers should expect Evans to be the primary focus in the passing game especially with Chris Godwin (ankle) sidelined. That means, Evans should see a heavy usage which is good news heading into a favorable matchup against the Carolina Panthers. Fantasy managers should go ahead and plug in Evans as a WR1 for this weekend.