Cardinals vs. Panthers Pick
Did oddsmakers set the over/under too high in Sunday’s Cardinals and Panthers matchup at 1:00PM ET?
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetDSI, the Panthers are 3-point home favorites versus the Cardinals after opening as a 2.5-point favorite earlier this week. As for the total, the number opened at 48 and has been bet down to 47 points.
The Cardinals blew several opportunities throughout their Sunday night matchup with the Seahawks last week and wound up settling for a 6-6 tie after overtime. That result snapped the Cardinals’ modest two-game winning run and dropped Arizona’s record to 3-3-1. The Cardinals failed to cover as a 2.5-point favorite in that game so their ATS record for the year is 3-4.
The Panthers received a much-needed bye last week following their 41-38 loss to the Saints in Week 6. That loss dropped the defending NFC champion’s record down to 1-5 on the year and they have now failed to cover in five of their six games in 2016 as well. The secondary has been a problem all season for Carolina, which is allowing 282.0 passing yards per game this year, which ranks 26th in the NFL.
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OUR PREDICTION: The teams that have lit up the scoreboard this season versus the Panthers are the ones that can beat them through the air. The Falcons threw for over 500 yards on the Panthers in Atlanta a few weeks back and New Orleans racked up 460 yards passing two weeks ago. But Arizona’s passing game has been out of sync all season and instead, look for the Cardinals to try to once again put the game in the hands of running back David Johnson. That might be the best strategy for Bruce Arians’ team to move the ball, but it also plays into the one strength that Carolina still has on defense: Its front seven. With Johnson more involved and the Cardinals defense playing at a high level right now, look for this game to be relatively low-scoring.
NFL WEEK 8 PREDICTION: CARDINALS/PANTHERS UNDER 47