Everyone knew this day would eventually come for the Carolina Panthers, and it finally arrived. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got quarterback Baker Mayfield back and looked nothing like a 1-5 team, routing the 3-2 Panthers 43-13 at Bank of America Stadium.

It was the same kind of beatdown fans grew used to in the years before between these two teams. Carolina mercifully pulled its starters in the fourth quarter of a game that was decided long before then.

The results point to serious issues across the roster and the coaching staff. Now the Panthers have to move on fast, because a short week leads to a road trip to face the Green Bay Packers on Thursday.

Let’s get right to the winners and losers.

Loser: Why is Ejiro Evero still employed?

Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero has to go, how many times does everyone have to say this until it happens. This performance was right back on par with the Week 1 home loss to the Chicago Bears. Carolina has now allowed 40-plus points twice at home, and the season is only seven weeks old.

When this defense faces a good offense, and Tampa Bay is exactly that with a healthy Mayfield, it struggles. Yes, Carolina was without both starting cornerbacks in Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson, along with top edge rusher Jaelan Phillips. Still, this isn’t talent issue. It’s a coaching issue. I mean, what was the plan going into this game? And everyone knew Akayleb Evans was not a capable starter. He showed that in Week 4 and showed that again today. There’s no reason why he should be playing anymore.

It also falls on Panthers coach Dave Canales. Sean McDermott is sitting out there without a job, and Canales chose to keep and back Evero. I think Canales is a good head coach, but he can’t go down with his defensive coordinator. If Carolina doesn’t make a change and the season bottoms out, the team could be looking at a clean reset.

Loser: Bryce Young goes from M-V-P chants to boo birds in front of the home crowd

Just two games ago, Bryce Young was drawing MVP buzz, and it was warranted. On Sunday, he was getting booed off the field at home before halftime. Young completed 14-of-27 passes for 163 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions before Kenny Pickett replaced him. He also lost a fumble.

Not every turnover was on him. Jalen Coker slipped on one of the interceptions. However, Young owns the other one and the fumble. Against a 1-5 divisional opponent at home, this was a brutal, humbling moment. He can’t stack back-to-back bad games, because the doubters are going to come right back out if he struggles against the Packers’ defense.

Loser: Taylor Moton’s injury paints a very dark cloud over this loss

This one hurts. Veteran right tackle Taylor Moton battled back from blood clots in June, got himself into football shape, and played well last week against the Philadelphia Eagles in just his first start back. However, he was carted off early in this game with what was later described as an ankle/fibula injury.

If it’s a fracture, that’s likely season-ending for Moton and creates long-term problems at tackle for the second year in a row (UPDATE, Canales confirmed it is in fact a fractured fibula for Moton). The good news is that rookie Monroe Freeling was healthy for this game and stepped in well.

Loser: Rasheed Walker’s play further complicates things at tackle

How many times does Rasheed Walker have to land on this list before Carolina does something at tackle? Canales said Walker played his best game of the year against Philadelphia last week and that’s why he was starting over Freeling, but that was a low bar. By my count, Walker gave up at least three sacks on Sunday.

Unfortunately, Moton’s injury makes making a change harder. The only alternative right now is moving Freeling to left tackle with Stone Forsythe on the right side. Would that actually help things? The Panthers are in a tough spot.

Loser: Run defense showed its ugly head again

The two worst rushing performances under Evero have now come from this season. With Phillips and Thomas Incoom out, the Bucs ran at that side over and over again. Bucky Irving topped 100 yards with two touchdowns, Kenneth Gainwell added 88 yards, and Sean Tucker had 50 yards and a score. Tampa Bay piled up 258 rushing yards.

That’s the second-most allowed on the ground by an Evero-led unit since the Week 1 game against the Chicago Bears earlier this season. To his credit, the unit tightened up since Week 1, including against Bijan Robinson and the Eagles. But, it showed its ugly head again on Sunday.

Mayfield barely had to do anything in his return game, finishing 7-of-11 for 64 yards and a touchdown in a 43-point outing.

Loser: Will the Panthers take the same approach it did with Jimmy Horn Jr. with David Moore?

David Moore’s early muffed punt gave Tampa Bay a short field to build its lead. The fact he was even out there is coaching malpractice.

Moore was supposedly back there for his safer hands, and he muffed it anyway. Carolina already cut Jimmy Horn Jr. for the same mistake. Moore should be next, but he’s Canales’ guy, so I doubt it actually happens. But, he literally doesn’t bring any value to this team.

Trevor Etienne is a very capable returner who was standing on the bench, and showed on limited offense reps what he could do with the ball on Sunday.

Loser: Luke Kuechly’s special day was ruined by this trainwreck of a game

This was supposed to be a special day in Charlotte. The Panthers were excited to honor Hall of Fame linebacker Luke Kuechly during halftime, who was presented with his ring of excellence. Instead, the Panthers exited the field to a crowd of boos facing a 33-6 deficit at the half when Kuechly came out onto the field.

It was a tough look, even if the crowd lightened up in support of one of the franchise’s best players.

Luke Kuechly gets his @ProFootballHOF ring of excellence 💍 pic.twitter.com/hL0QKTHBZ8

— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2026

Winner: Ikem Ekwonu’s value somehow went up

Ikem Ekwonu hasn’t played a single snap this season, yet somehow his value keeps climbing. The former first-round pick ruptured his patellar tendon in last season’s playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams and hasn’t played since.

Everything said about the situation is that Ickey is in high spirits in his recovery and working his way back, but there’s still no real update on when he could be back. He’s also heading into a contract year, so Carolina has a decision to make eventually.

For context, the Bears took Ozzy Trapilo off the PUP list before the season from the same injury suffered on the same day and got him valuable padded practice time before the team. Ekwonu hasn’t had that luxury and hasn’t practiced since January. Once the Panthers open his 21-day window, which they haven’t done yet, it could still be another two or three weeks before he plays. Yet, he still seems like a viable option once he’s finally cleared to return.

Winner: Darren Waller had a pretty cool play, right?

Veteran tight end Darren Waller hauled in a career-long 50-yard touchdown on his only target after being held without a catch against the Eagles. It was a cool play and exciting to see him get involved again.

However, even that turned sour right after when Tampa Bay blocked the extra point and returned it for two points. That’s the kind of day the Panthers had today.