Carolina Panthers vs Detroit Lions
The Carolina Panthers were the darlings of the football betting world for the first part of the season. With Cam Newton leading the charge they were bombing away resulting in a 5-1 ATS run from weeks 3-8.
Ford Field – Detroit, MI
Sunday November 20 – 1:00PM
Moneyline: Detroit -310, Carolina +250
Spread (ATS): Detroit -7
Over/Under: 47.5
Odds courtesy of 5Dimes
Carolina
Now the team appears to be bottoming out a bit. They have lost their last two including their largest deficit of the season, 30-3 at home against a Tennessee Titans team I still think is pretty awful.
While Cam Newton’s record setting pace has cooled the real culprit most of the time for the Panthers is their defense. It wasn’t that long ago that Julius Peppers led a fearsome group but right now this group is devoid of impact players and ranked 30th in the league in points allowed. Other than Charles Johnson at DE there isn’t anyone you need to game plan around. This team needs impact plays on defense to keep pace but is in the bottom third in interceptions and sacks.
Carolina was one of several teams this year to come out of their bye week totally flat. They lost last week to Tennessee and now face a Detroit team that needs redemption in a big, big way. Carolina has no chance unless Newton can get back to being a dominant force, both running and passing. He will need some help from top target Steve Smith who was held in check last week in the ugly loss.
Detroit
The Detroit Lions laid an egg last week against Chicago. Just like Carolina it seems the bye week was more of a hindrance than a help as they looked flat after a dominating win against Denver the previous week. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The schedule from here on out is a challenge with two games left against Green Bay. They absolutely can not afford a stumble against Carolina or else their playoff dreams may disappear.
Despite their overall success the Lions have struggled with injuries all season long. Top back Jahvid Best is still doubtful for this one and the combination of Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson is nicked up though probable at this point. Best has somewhat been the key as the running game has really struggled without him. However, if Stafford plays well there is no way the Lions don’t beat a team like Carolina.
On defense the Lions need to improve their splits. Overall they are a solid unit but they get hammered in the running game. That may or may not be an issue this week against Newton as not all of his runs are by design. Still Carolina does have a nice stable of backs to trot out there. This is an important spot for Detroit so we should see a focused effort, with some line value after they were hammered last week.
ATS Pick: Detroit -7
Over/Under Pick: Over
Score Prediction: Detroit 31 – Carolina 20
