Panthers favored over Browns
CHARLOTTE, NC (The Spread) – It still isn’t clear if Cam Newton will be playing on Sunday when the Carolina Panthers host the Cleveland Browns at 1PM ET on CBS.
The Panthers are coming off a 19-17 win over Tampa Bay last week, doing so without Newton, who was nursing injuries suffered from a car accident the middle of last week. Newton is listed as questionable for this game, but he has been working in practice with the first team. The Panthers won last week with Derek Anderson under center to get to 5-8-1 on the season. They trail the Saints by ½ a game in the NFC South. Carolina is 7-7 against the spread this year, but just 2-4 ATS in their last 6.
The Browns suffered an embarrassing 30-0 loss at home last week to fall to 7-7 on the season. Cleveland opted to give Johnny Manziel his first start and it wasn’t pretty. The Browns finished with 107 total yards as Manziel was just 10 of 18 passing for 80 yards while throwing two interceptions. The Browns are now 7-5-2 against the spread this season and they have alternated covering and not covering over their last 10 games.
The oddsmakers like the Panthers at home as of now, as oddsmakers from BetDSI have given Carolina odds of -3.5 points against the Browns on Sunday. The over/under total for the game has been set at 40.5 points (View Matchup). The home team has won the last two in this series and the Panthers have covered the spread in all four meetings with the Browns.
The big question for this game will be what Manziel can do in his second start. The Carolina defense isn’t great, allowing 351.5 yards per game, but the Bengals’ defense wasn’t strong either and totally dominated Cleveland. If Newton is able to play, he faces a defense that has been pretty strong against the pass, allowing just 221.9 yards per game through the air. However, Carolina many not need many points to win.
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