Patriots vs. Panthers Preseason Pick
Will the New England Patriots beat the Carolina Panthers in their dress rehearsal for the regular season? The two teams will meet at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday night.
Game Snapshot
257 New England Patriots at 258 Carolina Panthers
7:30 p.m. ET, Friday, August 24, 2018
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Panthers are 1-point favorites to beat the Patriots. The total, meanwhile, sits at 42 points. As of this writing, 56% of the public betting tickets are on the Patriots to cover the point spread.
New England Patriots
Patriots first-round OL Isaiah Wynn (torn Achilles) was ruled out for the 2018 season. Wynn was reportedly going to serve as depth to start the year, but his versatility was much needed for a team that lost premier left tackle Nate Solder in free agency. The Patriots line will now likely shake out as LT Trent Brown, LG Joe Thuney, C David Andrews, RG Shaq Mason, and RT Marcus Cannon, with very little serviceable depth. New England’s other first-rounder, Sony Michel, remains questionable for Week 1.
Carolina Panthers
Panthers LT Matt Kalil (knee) is considered “week-to-week” after having his knee scoped Tuesday. The team’s trainer released a statement mentioning that Kalil had “received a second opinion” from Dr. James Andrews and “the decision was made to perform an arthroscopic procedure” on his knee. Kalil notably had both knees scoped in 2015, too. It’s horrendous news for the Panthers after the club had already lost RT Daryl Williams to a dislocated kneecap and torn MCL, as well as premier G Andrew Norwell in free agency. Taylor Moton is now expected to start at left tackle in Week 1 for a Carolina offensive line that remains in shambles.
NFL Betting Trends
New England
The Patriots are 14-3 against the spread in their last 17 road games.
Carolina
The Panthers are 4-1 against the number in their last five home games.
Prediction
Ron Rivera says that he plans to play his starters all the way into the third quarter to replicate halftime adjustments. There’s no word on if Tom Brady will play an entire half but this is the dress rehearsal week for teams for the regular season and with that, I think the value is in the under with more game-planning likely to occur than in the other three exhibition matchups.
NFL Preseason Prediction: Patriots/Panthers under 44.5