The surprising Tampa Bay Buccaneers have thrust themselves into the NFC playoff picture by winning games they weren't supposed to win.
Now they have to take care of one in which they're favored if they want to stay there.
The Buccaneers will go for the season sweep of the struggling Carolina Panthers, who travel to Tampa Bay on Sunday missing several key players from an already ineffective offense.
The Buccaneers (5-3) are the only team in the league with a winning record despite being outscored by its opponents (190-157) - and they were nearly the only division leader who could make that claim.
Tampa Bay was within two yards of taking the lead in last week's 27-21 loss at Atlanta, which would have perched the Bucs atop the NFC South, but the Falcons stuffed LeGarrette Blount on fourth-and-inches from the 2-yard line on the Bucs' final possession.
The Bucs haven't lost back-to-back games all season and they'll need to keep it that way to keep pace with Atlanta and New Orleans in the division.
Tampa Bay beat the Panthers 20-7 on Sept. 19 in Charlotte, as quarterback Josh Freeman threw two touchdown passes, but Carolina has won six of the past nine meetings and Panthers coach John Fox is 11-6 all-time against the Bucs.
The Bucs could get two starting offensive linemen back Sunday. Center Jeff Faine practiced Wednesday and could return after missing four games with a strained quadriceps, and right tackle Jeremy Trueblood is expected to be back in the lineup after missing two games with a knee injury.
The injury report on the other side is far less promising.
The Panthers (1-7) are likely to be without their top three rushers, as DeAngelo Williams (foot), Jonathan Stewart (concussion) and Tyrell Sutton (ankle) are all hurt, meaning Mike Goodson will make his first start at running back.
That's just the beginning of the bad news on the injury front for Carolina, which placed quarterback Matt Moore, offensive tackle Jeff Otah and linebackers Dan Connor and Thomas Davis on injured reserve this week.
Rookie Jimmy Clausen will move back into the starting spot in place of Moore, who will have surgery to repair a torn labrum suffered in last week's 34-3 loss to the Saints.
Clausen is 0-3 as a starter and has a 48.0 rating. He has completed 46.8 percent of his passes for 501 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions. Fellow rookies Tony Pike and Armanti Edwards will be Clausen's backups.
Otah's continued absence - he never made it back from arthroscopic surgery on his knee in August - along with the depleted backfield is good news for the Bucs, who rank 30th in the league against the run, allowing 147 yards per game.
Tampa Bay ranks last in the league with six sacks, but the Bucs plan to ramp up the pressure against Clausen, especially with Carolina's big-play potential in the running game limited by the rash of injuries.