Carolina Panthers @ Detroit Lions

Panthers  (+375) @ Lions (-500): O/U 44
Panthers +9.5 (-110), Lions -9.5 (-110)

Writer’s Record:
Bet: 4-7 -2.9u
Lean: 7-4 +2.11u

The world changes fast and nothing is more indicative of that than the Lions being nearly double-digits favorites at home.  There is no doubt they are the real deal this season and the biggest reason why is the massive improvement on the defensive end.  They were a joke on defense last season and teams routinely went up-and-down the field with ease.  That is no longer the case as they are the number-four defense overall and potentially the best team against the run.  The Panthers on the other hand are spiraling hard.  They can’t seem to run the ball or stop the run or score the ball or stop opposing teams from scoring.  Rookie Bryce Young looks flustered in the pocket and the only real bright spot is Adam Thielen.  So far the Lions have been great at meeting expectations and rising to the challenge.  Let’s see how they far when they are the heavy favorite and need to motivate themselves instead of using everyone else doubting them as fuel to their fire.  This does seem like a nice matchup for them, but with Amon-Ra St. Brown unlikely to play, the Lions will need someone to step up. Paging TE phenom Sam LaPorta.

Main Storylines to Watch

Keep it Simple Stupid: The Lions love to pound the ball and the Panthers have so far proven they love to let teams gash them on the ground.  The Lions don’t play mind games and you can bet they will come into this game with a plan to establish David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, which we all know will then open up the play-action game and all of the sudden the Panthers are down a TD and Aidan Hutchinson is on the prowl.

Is There No One Else?: The Panthers desperately need a hero and unless it’s a well bearded ginger, I don’t see their fortunes changing anytime soon.  Miles Sanders has gotten worse with each game and Bryce Young isn’t looking like a surefire starter in this league.  It’s still early for Young, but the Panthers are banged up on defense and pretty incompetent on offense.  The Lion’s are a front-running team in a good way and they were born to play ahead and keep exploiting weaknesses.  It’s a big number to cover, but the outcome of the game shouldn’t really be in doubt for this one,

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