Bucs offering free seats vs. Panthers to season-ticket holders

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are offering two free tickets to season-pass members for Week 13's game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reported.

The offering comes after the Buccaneers drew an eight-year low with just 40,682 people in attendance against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 12. The previous regular-season low at Raymond James Stadium was in November 2010, when the team drew a crowd of 39,781.

Overall, the Buccaneers rank 30th in average attendance this season (55,181), ahead of only the Cincinnati Bengals (52,844) and the Los Angeles Chargers (35,202).

"We have always looked for ways to add to the fan experience, and this offer is just another example of our desire to bring added value to our season-pass members," Bucs chief operating officer Brian Ford said. "We have made similar offers over the years, and the holiday seemed like a great opportunity to thank our loyal season-pass members with a special opportunity like this."

Tampa Bay is currently 4-7 on the season and hasn't made the playoffs since 2007.

"Small crowd last week," defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said about the Buccaneers' 27-9 win over the 49ers. "We played our hearts out last week, but it's our home field so we should have a home advantage. I'm pretty sure we will (against Carolina). If not, we'll make it.

"It's not frustrating because you've got to understand the fans, too. They're tired of losing ... at the end of the day, we still want you all to come out. The more fans there, the better we play. The better I play."