Panthers Getting Too Many Points Against Struggling Cardinals

Cardinals vs. Panthers, 1:00 ET

When checking out the NFL schedule, I didn't have a ton of games that stood out to me. Some of the games had some issues with injuries, others were not very appealing to me, and some of them had sides and totals I didn't have a good read on. This game feels a bit different though as I think I have a good read and am a bit surprised about how this line has come out. I'm going to try and grab a unit for us in a game between the Cardinals and Panthers that takes place in North Carolina. 

The Cardinals are still alive in the playoff hunt, but their best bet is to win the division. They still are battling the Seahawks, and to a lesser extent, the 49ers. The Rams are the current leaders in the division and no other team from the division would make the playoffs if it started today. The Commanders have the 7th spot, but I'm not sure they are going to relinquish it either. Arizona had a golden opportunity to move up in the standings, but they haven't taken advantage of it. They are just 2-3 over their past five games, and just 1-3 after the bye week. They dropped a game to the Seahawks, then to the Vikings, and then to the Seahawks once again. They did beat the Patriots last week, but who hasn't beaten the Patriots lately? After a hot start to their season, Kyler Murray has come back down to Earth. He has thrown for 3,086 yards and just 15 touchdowns with 8 interceptions, which isn't terrible, but also not dominating statistically. The Panthers defense has been pretty good against the pass overall, but not great. They have the worst rushing defense in football though, allowing 173 yards to opponents on the ground which bodes well for Murray's production. 

The Panthers don't have much to play for other than auditions for next year at this point. They are just 3-11, but looking to find some progress for next season. Usually you would think that means the team has given up on the season, but the Panthers are putting up a bit of a fight lately. Sure, they've lost four of their past five games, but three of those four games have been one-score games. Off of their bye, they went toe-to-toe with the Chiefs, then they took Tampa to overtime, and then they at least made the Eagles sweat a bit. Last week, against Dallas, they reverted back to the old, bad Panthers team that struggled for much of the start of the season. Bryce Young hasn't been great, but he has played better over these four losses. He has thrown a touchdown in seven straight games but has also thrown at least one interception in back-to-back games. He also rushed for a touchdown in two of the past three games. The Cardinals defense is basically middle-of-the-pack with both rush and passing defense so there should be a challenge, but not the toughest one for Young tonight. 

Last week, the Panthers are coming off of a rather embarrassing loss and the Cardinals are fighting for their life. I haven't seen much out of Arizona despite a win last weekend. I think Carolina is enjoying the role of spoiler a bit and having them at home here seems like the right spot. I am a bit surprised that they are getting 4.5 points. I'm going to take them here as I think they could win this game outright. Grab the points. 

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