Panthers vs. Falcons: Prediction and best bets for Week 8 clash
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers vs. Falcons: Best bets
This might be a game that appears closer than it seems if the betting lines are any indication. The Carolina Panthers are just 2.5-point favorites after opening the week at -3, which might be something of a surprise considering the Falcons dismal record and their home advantage.
Players and coaches rarely pay attention to this sort of thing, with form going out of the window when it comes to divisional matchups given the extra level of competitiveness. Carolina needs to be at something close to their best to topple an Atlanta team that has been a far more cohesive unit in the two games following their decision to put Dan Quinn out of his misery.
The Panthers are favorites for a reason. They have been mixing it well against some of the NFL’s best since the campaign began and although their young and exciting roster was beaten in New Orleans, it was another close contest that could have gone either way.
Bank of America Stadium will have some fans in for the second time this season. But this hardly helped the Panthers during their disappointing loss to the Chicago Bears.
The Falcons don’t possess anything like the same quality of defense, so if quarterback Teddy Bridgewater can get his team off to the same fast start they enjoyed in Week 5, then it should come with the same result, and Carolina at -2.5 is our play in this one.
Given both teams having serious problems on defense, then there should be plenty of points, and the over 48.5 looks like good value.