Patriots-Panthers Odds: New England, Carolina Evenly Matched In Preseason Game
The New England Patriots will be gunning for their second straight road win of the preseason when they travel to North Carolina on Friday to take on the Panthers in a game that is listed as a pick ’em at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Patriots topped the Saints 28-24 in their visit to New Orleans on Saturday. New England won outright as 2.5-point underdogs, topping a point total set at 43.5 and rewarding bettors who played the over for just the second time in their last six preseason contests.
New England has faced Carolina just once in the preseason in recent years, routing the Panthers 30-7 at home a year ago to cover as 5.5-point favorites. However, according to the OddsShark NFL Database the Patriots are 1-2 straight up and 0-3 against the spread in three regular-season meetings since their 32-29 win over the Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII.
Carolina rides a three-game preseason win streak into Saturday night’s Patriots vs. Panthers betting matchup at Bank of America Stadium. Led by quarterback Joe Webb, Carolina overcame an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit to knock off the Miami Dolphins in their last outing, failing to cover as 1.5-point favorites.
Quarterback Cam Newton is expected to see more action after struggling in his brief appearance against the Dolphins, completing just 4 of 10 passes for 42 yards and one interception. However, Newton tallied an impressive 209 yards and three touchdown passes the last time these two teams met in the regular season, a 24-20 Panthers win in 2013.
With Tom Brady’s status for the Patriots’ Week 1 meeting with the Buffalo Bills still up in the air, backup Jimmy Garoppolo should continue to get work this week after leading five New England scoring drives against the Saints, racking up 269 yards while completing 28 of 33 pass attempts, including one touchdown.
Despite the possibility that he may miss the first four games of the regular season, Brady still owns solid 20-1 odds to claim MVP honors in the upcoming campaign.
New England also made news this week with the signing of veteran wide receiver Reggie Wayne, who spent the past 14 NFL seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. Wayne is unlikely to see action against Carolina but provides the Patriots with depth, at least until starter Julian Edelman returns from injury some time in September.
Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
