Panthers vs. Bucs Prediction
After laying an egg in Chicago last week, will the Panthers rebound on Sunday when they visit the Bucs at 1:00PM ET?
Who Oddsmakers Like: Tampa Bay. According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Bucs are 1.5-point home favorites to beat the Panthers, who opened as a 2-point underdog before the line dropped. As for the total, the number hit the board at 44 but was bet up to 46.5 at the majority of sports books.
Who the Public Likes: Carolina. Despite losing last week in Chicago as a 3-point favorite, public bettors are still backing Cam Newton and Co. With kickoff a few hours away, the Panthers are receiving 71% of the tickets for today’s NFC South matchup. The Panthers are 4-3 overall but just 3-4 against the spread, while the Bucs are 2-4 straight up and 1-4-1 at the betting window.
Who the Trends Like: Carolina. The Panthers are a perfect 4-0 against the spread in their last four trips to Tamp and are 6-2 against the number in the last eight meetings between these two teams. In the last six meetings, the road team has covered five times.
Who We Like: Carolina. I don’t trust Jameis Winston’s health enough to back a struggling Tampa Bay team. Coach Dirk Koetter revealed Saturday that Winston “kind of re-injured” his right (throwing) shoulder in the Bucs’ Week 7 loss to the Bills. The signal-caller is also dealing with a bruised deltoid muscle in his throwing shoulder, which explains why he didn’t throw on Wednesday or Thursday. Even though Winston is having his best statistical season of his career, he’s been highly erratic. He’s missing open throws and turnovers continue to be an issue. Winston is coming off a solid game against Buffalo, where he threw for 384 yards and three scores. But if he gets knocked out of today’s game early like he did a few weeks ago in Arizona, Ryan Fitzpatrick is a turnover machine. I’ll take my chances with the Panthers, even though they’ve been highly inconsistent this season.
NFL WEEK 8 PREDICTIONS: CAROLINA PANTHERS +1.5