Today at 4:25 p.m. ET, the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers kick off their 2014 seasons with Week 1 action live from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay. The game can be live streamed here. Carolina fans can hear all of the action on WBT 1110 while Tampa Bay fans can do the same on WDAE 620.
Carolina enters play off of a 12-4 season in 2013 that saw it lose to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round of the playoffs and the team will look to build on that while Tampa Bay comes into 2014 after a 4-12 finish to last year's campaign that saw it miss the playoffs for the sixth straight year.
The Panthers have undergone a lot of changes since their solid campaign from a year ago and the team will look to make due despite a lot of injuries to its defense.
"That's the nature of the game," said reigning NFL Coach of the Year Ron Rivera, according to ESPN. "This could happen in the regular season and we have to adapt. It's basically the next man up."
Cam Newton enters his fourth season and is coming off of ankle surgery as he tries to bring Carolina back to the playoffs.
Newton went 292-for-473 for 3,379 yards with 24 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while he also rushed for 585 yards on 111 attempts while reaching the end zone six times last season.
With Steve Smith gone, Newton has a host of new wide receivers, including Jerricho Cotchery while running back DeAngelo Williams returns after leading the team with 843 rushing yards on 201 carries with three touchdowns.
Tight end Greg Olsen led the Panthers with 816 receiving yards off of 73 catches and he scored six times last season.
The Buccaneers brought in Lovie Smith to coach the team this season while Leslie Frazier will serve as the defensive coordinator. Frazier is happy about the prospects of his defense.
"It's easy to get excited about this opportunity," Frazier said of the defense per ESPN.
Josh McCown takes the reigns to Tampa Bay's offense after going 149-for-224 (66.5%) last season for 1,829 yards with 13 touchdowns and one pick in eight appearances with the Chicago Bears.
McCown will look to Vincent Jackson and rookie Mike Evans as his main weapons this season. Jackson had 78 receptions for a team-best 1,224 yards last campaign and found the back of the end zone seven times.
Doug Martin will look to pace the Bucs on the ground after carrying the ball 127 times for 456 yards last season, but he only had one touchdown.
The Panthers and Buccaneers open up their 2014 slates when they take the field this afternoon at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay.
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