Panthers vs. Jaguars Odds
The Jacksonville Jaguars hope to start a winning trend on Sunday when they open the season at home against the Carolina Panthers at 1PM ET on FOX.
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Panthers are favored on the road in this contest, as Carolina is getting odds of -3 points against the Jaguars. The over/under total for the game has been set at 41.5 points. These two have only met five times in franchise history. The Jaguars come in 11-4 against the spread in their last 15 seasons openers while the Panthers are just 1-5 ATS in their last six openers.
The Panthers were 7-8-1 on the season last year, but that was still good enough to win the NFC South. Carolina also won a playoff game before losing to the Seahawks in the second round. Carolina was 9-9 against the spread last season while going 10-8 with the over. Ron Rivera enters his fifth season with the Panthers. He is 32-31-1 in his previous four years. Carolina had one of the top defenses in the 2014 season, but the offense needed more playmakers. That has already taken a hit in 2015 as second-year receiver Kelvin Benjamin is out for the season with an injury. That puts a lot of pressure on Cam Newton to make plays. Newton threw for 3,127 yards and 18 touchdowns while rushing for 539 yards and five scores last year.
The Jaguars were 3-13 last season, but that still put them in third in the AFC South, one game ahead of the Titans. Jacksonville was 6-9-1 against the spread last season while going a split 8-8 on the over/under total. Gus Bradley is in his third season at Jacksonville and the pressure is on him as he is just 7-25 in his first two seasons. The Jaguars are hoping that Blake Bortles can make a big jump in his second season. The quarterback threw for 2,908 yards with 11 touchdowns and 17 interceptions as a rookie. Hoping to help the offense, the Jaguars added T.J. Yeldon at running back and he is expected to start right away. Jacksonville did lose its first round pick, defensive end Dante Fowler Jr., to a knee injury during rookie camp.
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