NFL 2019 INTERNATIONAL LONDON GAME 2 -- CAROLINA PANTHERS vs TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

This Sunday is the second of the four NFL London games and sees Carolina Panthers play against fellow NFC South rivals Tampa Bay Buccaneers this game will also be at the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium (Below) and then there are two further games at Wembley to enjoy. Time to look at the second International game which is again being played at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Sunday 13th October and kick off will be at 2:30pm which is a bit early but possibly this is going to be on TV here in the UK. 

The new stadium still on the old site of White Hart Lane has a capacity of 62,062, making it one of the largest stadiums in the English Premier League and the largest club stadium in London. It has been designed with the NFL in mind and will be host for at least 10 years with the likelihood of a UK Franchise in the future. 

Sunday 13th October
Carolina Panthers vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Another sell out crowd is expected for these popular matches and kick off will be at 2:30pm (Uk Time). 

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Current season record 

  Carolina Panthers
    - P5 W3 L2 F129 A107
  Tampa Bay Buccaneers
    - P5 W2 L3 F147 A148

Head Coach - Ron Rivera

Week 6 of the regular season and while both teams are "away" in London technically this is a home fixture for Tampa Bay and a divisional fixture for two sides in the NFC South. Carolina will be led from the sidelines by head coach Ron Rivera and hopefully we would have seen the enigmatic Cam Newton but i hear he's been sidelined with injury so might have to rely on the back up quarterback (and less flamboyant) Kyle Allen. The Panthers played Jacksonville Jaguars last weekend and won 34-27 thus arriving into London with a record of W3-L2. With Cam Newton sidelined the key players to watch on the Panthers roster include Christian McCaffrey at running back and in their defence is ex Buccaneer Gerald McCoy who should be giving quarterbacks plenty of worry this season. 

Head Coach - Bruce Arians

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers  are led by head coach Bruce Arians and Quarterback Jameis Winston and will need to be on top of their game here in London having lost last weekend against New Orleans Saints 31-24. I expect an open game, and hopefully it'll be full of exciting high scoring plays. Key players to watch for the Buccaneers (other than the QB) include wide receiver Mike Evans and in defence it's Lavonte David.

Both teams will then have a bye week [week 7] to recover from their travels as is common following these matches.

Previous visits to London?
Carolina Panthers (NFC South) have not been involved in a London International games yet so this will be a new venture for them all but one I'm sure they'll enjoy. Their opponents Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been to London twice before but on the losing side each time the first in 2009 against New England [35-7] and again in 2011 losing at Wembley against Chicago Bears [24-18].

It will be a full house and the crowd will be roaring both teams home. Expect the stadium to be full of shirts of ALL NFL teams (they'll be a few Tottenham Hotspur fans around too I suspect). We will aim to keep a brief summary of each quarter as the game progresses, should be a great start to this series of UK fixtures which will surely grow until we have our own regular season NFL franchise. Also ensure you catch all the build up and highlights of matches played earlier on their regular Saturday night NFL Show with Jason Bell and Osi Umenyiora joining in the fun this season - have a great day all. 

I'm going for a Carolina Panthers win and over 44 points in the match, also backing the over 23 points score at half time too. 👍😀

1st Quarter;
We about to kick off for the second London game and it's kicker Joey Slye to get us underway for the Panthers and the Buccaneers will receive the ball first from their own 25yd line. The opening play by the Buccs is a disaster as Jameis Winston throws an interception to James Bradberry and the Panthers are ready to pounce. Kyle Allen cannot get the passes complete though and they have to settle for a 49yd field goal from Joey Slye to open the scoring this afternoon. Both sides struggle to find completed passes and it's a bit of a punt fest early, Winston gets sacked again and the defence are in control so far, now Carolina get another chance while there is plenty of time for this to settle down and we are only half way through the opening quarter. At last a touchdown, from Carolina, a 12 play drive over 84yds and ends with a  Christian McCaffrey 1yd run to take it home and that extends the Panthers lead to 10-0 (extra point is good).
2nd Quarter;
Tampa Bay start the second quarter with the football and only takes them three plays to get themselves on the scoreboard, Ronald Jones going into the end zone and it's 10-7 now after Matt Gay secures the extra point. Tampa Bay get another drive going from their own 15yd line but the 5th sack of the opening half sees Jameis Winston downed once again and is then intercepted by Carolina corner back Javien Elliott giving the Panthers excellent field position on the Tampa 36yd line. Kyle Allen begins to find his range and completed passes to DJ Moore and then Christian McCaffrey who takes it home 25yds for his second touchdown of the game (which also secures my HT score bet, thank you). Still got over seven minutes to go in the half. Tampa Bay had a chance to score again but more sacks and fumbles, one recovered, one lost, meant they hand the ball back again and the time slowly runs out for this half with Carolina leading by ten points.

H/T Score;   Carolina Panthers  17 -- 7  Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

3rd Quarter;
Defences remain on top in the early plays of the second half and successive punts so far. Carolina have the ball now on their own 32yd line, Kyle Allen starts that drive with a 30yd pass to Curtis Samuel and they are into the Tampa Bay half, Christian McCaffrey gets his usual run too but it's a key call on 4th and 1 but the Panthers elect to take the 46yd field goal and they go to 20-7. And in a matter of moments the Panthers go up 27-7 after Curtis Samuel runs in a touchdown following an interception from the Buccs after the latest kick off, the game is quickly running away from them now and the lead grows to twenty points. Tampa stall on their next drive and have to take a 54yd field goal from Matt Gay to bring it to 27-10, getting closer to my over 44 target too which is nice still been a fairly scrappy game but if Tampa Bay can get the next score could be an interesting final quarter.
4th Quarter;
But the Panthers have other ideas and take the ball down the field into the final quarter and another Touchdown score from Curtis Samuel (13yd pass) extends the lead to 34-10 looks like it's game over now, or is it, Jameis Winston connects with running back Dare Ogunbowale for 21 yards then Mike Evans for another 9 which sets up a Cameron Brate touchdown from 10yds and the 2pt conversion attempt is good too and it's 34-18 with twelve minutes still left on the clock. Another mistake and fumble by the Buccaneers allows Carolina kicker Joey Slye to score another field goal and there's just been too many errors today. Time for another big drive though and it doesn't take up a lot of time either the Buccaneers Dare Ugunbowale skips a missed tackle to run it in right up the middle for another Touchdown. They go for two again and Jameis Winston runs it in! 37-26 about 3 mins left. Carolina's next possession ends with them punting away and Tampa try again, sadly it's not to be as they are intercepted again and the clock is not going to have a lot left should they get the ball back again. As the 2 minute warning sounds here in London it's almost time for the Sunday night games to get underway back over the pond in the USA, hopefully they've been watching this and will fancy a trip over to the UK soon.

F/T Score;    Carolina Panthers  37 -- 26  Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Attendance:   60,087
Another big attendance for the London games and this will prove the decision to extend the International Series across the pond to be the correct one. I expect Wembley to be nearly full too for the final pair of games here in London.

The next game in London @Wembley will be on Sunday 27th October between Cincinnati Bengals vs Los Angeles Rams this match will be shown LIVE on BBC TV.