The Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers meet in a (kinda, sorta) winner-takes-all game on Saturday.
The pregame narrative: The Panthers win the NFC South with a win. A Buccaneers victory, however, doesn't guarantee them a spot. Instead, they'd need the New Orleans Saints to upset the Atlanta Falcons as well. Even though this isn't necessarily do-or-die, I expect both teams to bring their best effort.
Check out our top Panthers vs. Buccaneers prop picks, featuring Bryce Young and Chuba Hubbard.
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Panthers vs. Buccaneers prop picks: Week 18
Best Bet: Young over 18.5 rushing yards (-115)
This is the biggest game of Young's NFL career, and I expect him to treat it as such.
The Panthers quarterback will assuredly do whatever he can to win the game, and that likely means pulling the ball down and taking off.
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Young's rushing numbers are already up in recent outings. With Carolina fighting for the division, he's topped this total in four consecutive games.
In fact, Young is averaging 10-plus rushing yards per game more than this total (29.8).
One of those efforts was a 20-yard showing against Saturday's opponent.
Overall, the Buccaneers have struggled to limit mobile QBs all season long. Another poor showing should be the case in Week 18, and Young has the mobility to take advantage of this matchup.
Key stat: Tampa Bay is allowing the sixth-most rushing yards per game to opposing QBs (21.9).
NFL Week 18 props
Hubbard over 8.5 receiving yards (-121): Hubbard went from being a featured member of the offence to being relegated to bench duties, but he's seeing the field enough for me to lay down this wager.
From Weeks 9-12, Hubbard was limited to a minuscule 23.2% offensive snap share.
Over the last four weeks, however, that number has been on the rise. Hubbard is playing 45.6% of the snaps since Week 13, and his numbers are climbing once again.
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Hubbard has topped this total in two of his last four games and is still the team's preferred receiving back.
The Panthers should be looking to use Hubbard more in a plus matchup against the Bucs.
Tampa Bay is allowing the most receiving yards per game to opposing running backs (52.1).
Hubbard had three targets in Week 17 but fell below this total. Similar usage should allow him to clear this mark with ease.
Panthers vs. Buccaneers prop picks made at 1:59 p.m. ET 01/02/2026.
