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Winners and Losers From Panthers' 20-14 Loss to Buccaneers

Joey Slye's stock skyrocketed against the Buccaneers and Cam Newton raised a ton of questions about his health.

Isaiah Houde

Winners and Losers From Panthers' 20-14 Loss to Buccaneers
Winners and Losers From Panthers' 20-14 Loss to Buccaneers /

Here are the winners and losers from the Carolina Panthers' Thursday night loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Winners

Luke Kuechly

Luke Kuechly was an absolute beast. He put everything on the line after recording 17 tackles, two tackles for loss, a deflected pass and a safety. He nearly recorded an interception when he deflected a pass and his efforts proved once again that he's the best linebacker in the NFL. There isn't much else to say about his performance.

Joey Slye

The undrafted rookie kicker has been incredible throughout two NFL games. He missed his first field goal, but since then he has hit six-of-seven. He made four field goals -- which racked up the first four scores for Carolina's offense. His longest field goal of the night was 54 yards and he hit it with ease.

Greg Olsen

Despite struggling with injuries, Greg Olsen was able to bring in two receptions for more than 30 yards. He finished the game with six receptions and 110 yards -- which is the most receiving yards that he's had since 2017.

Brian Burns

The rookie defensive end Brian Burns recorded his first sack and was constantly disrupting Jameis Winston. He finished the game with three tackles, two quarterback hits and a sack.

D.J. Moore & Curtis Samuel

The receiving duo finally found some ground against the Buccaneers, but it just wasn't enough to score touchdowns. D.J. Moore had nine receptions for 89 yards -- while Curtis Samuel brought in five receptions for 91 yards. Moore went without a fumble and Samuel is continuing to find himself in this offense.

Losers

Cam Newton

Cam Newton simply looked off. He threw under 50 percent and he consistently overthrew his receivers in crucial moments. He finished the game with 333 passing yards on 25-for-51 passing attempts. He had zero rushing yards for the second consecutive week and got hit six times, while getting sacked three times. Speculation about his injury will ramp up after this Thursday night matchup. 

Ray-Ray McCloud

The Panthers caught two breaks early after returner Ray-Ray McCloud muffed two punts. McCloud recovered the first one himself and Donte Jackson was there to clean up the second one. Regardless, he muffed the punts and the outcome could've been very different. He may have saved his spot on the roster with his 39-yard punt return.

Donte Jackson

Jackson was primarily matched up with Buccaneers receiver Chris Godwin -- who had a career night. Godwin finished the game with eight receptions, 121 yards and a touchdown. It was a tough-to-watch performance for the second-year cornerback that had so much promise coming into the season.

Offensive line

The offensive line was absolutely horrible. Newton got hit six times in the backfield and was sacked three times. They couldn't create any holes for Christian McCaffrey -- who finished the game with only 37 yards on 16 carries. Taylor Moton had consecutive penalties on the same drive in the first quarter and Newton had no security on his blindside.

Christian McCaffrey

It's tough to put Christian McCaffrey in this category. The Panthers started off with him in the gameplan heavy, and they quickly turned away from him. He couldn't heat up and finished the game with a total of 53 yards on 18 touches -- compared to his 209 yards from scrimmage in the season opener.

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Isaiah Houde
ISAIAH HOUDE

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