NFL Odds: Lions vs Panthers Pick
NFL Week 2 Regular Season action sees the Detroit Lions taking on the Carolina Panthers on Sunday September 14 at Bank of America Stadium. Cappers Picks provides free NFL handicapping tips all season long.
We finally get the 2014 Cam Newton debut on Sunday when the Detroit Lions head to Charlotte to take on the Carolina Panthers.
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Detroit (1-0) at Carolina (1-0) When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, September 14, 2014
Where: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
Broadcast: CBS
NFL Week 2 Lines
NFL Week 2 Line: Panthers -2.5
NFL Week 2 Over/Under: 43.5
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Both teams won their opener in somewhat impressive style – the Lions utilized their potent offense and the Panthers won thanks to their stifling defense. It should be an intriguing NFC clash as two contenders look to put themselves in god position within their own Conference.
Lions
It is pretty hard to gage Detroit’s effort from week 1. Sure they posted a nice 35-14 win against the Giants but were the G-Men really that tough an out? The Lions have a much tougher task this week against a Panthers defense that is top notch and playing with a ton of confidence.
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The Lions utilized a new offensive philosophy last week and rode Matt Stafford’s athleticism to their easy win. Stafford looked as good as he has in his career passing for 346 yards and two TDs – both to Calvin Johnson who proved once again that he is one of the more dominant figures in the NFL.
Johnson racked up 149 yards receiving and those two TDs and did whatever he wanted on the football field.
The Lions passing game is going to have to dominate again – their running backs were awful last week averaging 2.0 yards per carry. Detroit lost two O-linemen in the win – Corey Hilliard is gone for the season and LaAdrian Waddle is in serious doubt for this week.
Translation – without protection there isn’t a whole lot of optimism for Detroit’s running game – and the passing game may have a difficult time getting off the ground.
Defensively the Lions looked good – but the Giants are making a habit of making every opposing defense look good! Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley look like a daunting task for any opposing offense.
The Lions generated just 2 sacks and put some serious pressure on Eli last week. They held New York to 2.4 yards per carry – something that is going to have to continue this week.
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Detroit`s secondary? It wasn`t tested against the Giants but they enter this game a tad depleted – Bill Bentley is gone for the season and the two safeties are banged up already – not a great sign going forward.
A much maligned Carolina receiving corp. looked OK last week and figures to be a much bigger challenge than they were last week with Cam back in the fold.
All in all Detroit allowed just 197 total yards in Week 1 and created three turnovers – exceeding expectations indeed.
Panthers
For Carolina, it looks like it is going to be all about defense this upcoming season – not a bad burden when you have the unit that the Panthers possess. Carolina shut the Buccaneers out for the first three quarters of last week’s game.
It’s true that the Panthers test this week is far superior than the one brought to them by a seemingly dysfunctional Buccaneers squad but there is zero doubt about the class of this defensive side.
The Panthers created three takeaways last week and looked dominant at various times in the win.
All of the offensive worries about Carolina can relax just a bit – Derek Anderson, yes Derek Anderson guided this team to victory last week. Rookie wideout Kelvin Benjamin made an immediate impact catching six passes for 92 yards and a TD. Greg Olsen was also very good win an eight catch, 83 yards, 1 TD day.
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It appears as though Cam Newton will have some decent weapons to return to action with – don’t think he didn’t play uber-close attention from the sidelines in Week 1!
Week 2 Betting Trends:
- • DET are 3-9-1 ATS in their last 13 games in Week 2.
- • Over is 8-3-1 in DET last 12 games in September.
- • DET are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 road games.
- • Under is 8-0 in CAR last 8 vs. NFC.
- • Under is 10-1 in CAR last 11 games overall.
- • CAR are 6-1-1 ATS in their last 8 home games.
Week 2 NFL Prediction
The fact that the Carolina Panthers won with Derek Anderson at the helm last week has me a believer! It’s true that Detroit was very impressive in their win Monday night but a matchup against a top tier defense has me backing off the Lions this week.
The Lions’ depleted offensive line, their injuries to the secondary and the fact that they head to Carolina where the Panthers lost just once last year makes me think the Panthers are in for a big day. Carolina rallies around the return of their leader and posts the surprisingly easy win.
NFL Week 2 Betting Prediction: 4* Free Play on Carolina Panthers -2 1/2
Check out our Updated NFL Week 2 Odds.
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