Lions vs. Panthers prediction and odds for NFL preseason Week 3 (Bet the Total)
The Panthers have struggled to score this preseason and with Bryce Young running a vanilla offense, it might not get any easier against the Lions in preseason Week 3.
By Josh Yourish
It’s been a bit of a tough preseason for Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers are 0-2 so far and Young has yet to throw a touchdown. That doesn't mean to sound alarm bells about the regular season, but it does mean there could be some value betting the team's final preseason matchup against the Detroit Lions.
Detroit will be kicking off the regular season in Kansas City, so getting everything tuned up for that one will be important. They are 1-1 in the preseason and coming off a 25-7 loss to the Jaguars last week.
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Lions vs. Panthers odds, spread and total
Lions vs. Panthers prediction and pick
Bryce Young’s preseason hasn’t been too encouraging to me. Last game he went 4/6 for 21 yards in limited action. He still shows his ability to make plays off schedule, but it’s the on schedule stuff that is a bit of a worry. He hasn’t shown much of a willingness to stand in the pocket and make throws over the middle of the field. I’m not going to read too much into it because it’s the preseason with vanilla offenses, but it’s something to monitor.
Those vanilla offenses aren’t going to go away this week and the Panthers don’t want Young doing too much scrambling or off-schedule playmaking in a meaningless exhibition game, so his superpower is somewhat neutralized. The Panthers haven’t scored much with him and I don’t think that’ll change this week.
On the other side, the Lions likely won’t be playing Jared Goff very much and haven’t played him yet this preseason. In general, I’m not a huge Goff believer, but he’s a lot better than Nate Sudfeld or Adrian Martinez. Maybe Teddy Bridgewater will make some plays for Detroit’s offense, but even he went just 5/11 for 34 yards last week wearing No. 50.
It could be an oversimplification to only talk quarterback play, but in the preseason that’s what matters most with backups taking so many snaps. I don’t believe in these quarterbacks, outside of Bryce Young once he gets a real offense in place, so I feel great about the under.
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