By T.J. Doyle

– Newsdesk contributor

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Dec 4, 2011 – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-7) will be looking to avoid a sixth straight loss when they welcome the Carolina Panthers (3-8) to Raymond James Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Carolina is coming off a 27-19 victory over winless Indianapolis, while the Buccaneers dropped a 23-17 game to Tennessee last Sunday.

Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman will look to break out from a season-long slump against the Panthers. Freeman has 12 touchdown passes on the year, but has also thrown sixteen interceptions.

His quarterback opponent, Cam Newton, will be looking to lead Carolina to their first back to back wins since December 2009/January 2010. Newton has already set a rookie record with 10 rushing touchdowns, and needs just 647 passing yards to best Peyton Manning’s rookie record of 3,739 yards, set in 1998.

Game Date/Time: Sunday, December 4; 1:00 pm ET

Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL

TV Schedule
FOX

TV Distribution Map: The506.com

Radio Schedule
Panthers: 1110 AM WBT 
Buccaneers: WFUS 103.5, WDAE 620 AM

For more on the Panthers head over to Cat Scratch Reader. For more on the Buccaneers, check out Bucs Nation. Follow the rest of Week 13 at SB Nation NFL.

Read More: Peyton Manning (QB – IND), Josh Freeman (QB – TAM), Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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ALLEN PARK — Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera could have modeled his team to be like any NFL squad.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have plenty of prestige. New England wins consistently. New Orleans has taken off since the acquisition of Drew Brees.

Instead, Rivera prefers to emulate the Detroit Lions (6-3).

“Well you know what, the big thing is that they have built up their defensive line,” Rivera said. “We all know that up front everything starts, it really does. You have a veteran offensive line, a group of guys that have been there a while, that work well together. We are in the same boat. We got a veteran group of offensive linemen.

“Then you (Lions) went around and put a bunch of playmakers around your quarterback and believe me, Calvin Johnson is about as good as anybody I have seen. Probably one of the best. I love Jahvid Best. I think he is fast strike player that can make plays. I like the tight ends that you have. It is a good football team that is young and growing and again, this year is showing you what their potential can be and however this year ends, at least they have made the noise that gets everybody’s attention and then everybody needs to watch out.”

Carolina is currently 2-7, but drafted Cam Newton, its franchise quarterback, earlier this season.

While the Panthers have a losing record, six of nine games this season have been decided by a touchdown or less.

Panthers receiver Steve Smith is looking forward to the day when his team once again has the success of this year’s Lions.

“The Lions organization has been around for a long time,” Smith said. “They have had their ups and downs and it looks like they are on an upside of more of a looking at success at the top now after they have had a stint of maybe some unsuccessful seasons.”