Projected Line: Carolina by 6 points
These two teams have very poor records (Carolina is 2-8, while Philadelphia is 3-7), but we can't even remotely say that these two teams have similar stories this season. Carolina is probably one of the best 2-8 teams ever in the league and also one of the most unlucky ones. Not only Carolina has had the toughest schedule in the league so far, as they actually defeated New Orleans and Washington on the road, while they should have also defeated Tampa Bay last week, after having already lost in the last second at Chicago and at Atlanta, two of the best teams in the league. Carolina is a 2-8 team that has been very competitive in almost every game and barring two losses against the Giants and the Broncos, they have been extremely competitive in all their losses, always losing their games by a difference of less than a touchdown to winning record teams such as Tampa Bay (twice), Atlanta, Chicago and Seattle.
The reasons for this ability to stay competitive on all these games has to go with the fact that they have an average defense against both the pass and the running game, while also having a good pass rush that can put the opposing quarterback in a lot of pressure. They have depth and a lot of potential on the running game and even though Cam Newton has been struggling this season, the Panthers' passing game has a lot of verticality, as Cam Newton is #3 in the league in yards per pass attempt. They will be facing a completely out of sorts Eagles defense that has gone from being a great pass defense in the first weeks of the season to be one of the worst, with some unbelievable coverage errors. They are looking so lost on the field that even top notch defenders like CB Nnamdi Asomugha are clueless about their position on the field, while letting the opposing receivers have lots of space to have a big play. This is the kind of matchup that veteran WR Steve Smith loves to have and he will pound the Eagles' terrible secondary tonight. Carolina's running game has a lot of potential with Cam Newton himself plus running backs DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart and Mike Tolbert, so even though they haven't been impressive lately, the truth is that Philadelphia's run defense is also struggling and I wouldn't be surprised if Carolina has a big game on the running department as well tonight.
But if things are tough on defense, they aren't any easier for Philadelphia's offense. With both starting QB Michael Vick and starting RB LeSean McCoy out with concussions, the Eagles' offense is now led by rookie QB Nick Foles and rookie RB Bryce Brown. Inserting two rookies in such key positions on a completely destroyed team is a pure recipe for disaster. Things only get even more disastrous when the offensive line is absolutely collapsed due to injuries and they have no chances of handling a Panthers' pass rush that is quite aggressive and that will surely hit Foles a considerable number of times tonight. Carolina has an underrated defense against both the pass and the run, so I don't expect Philadelphia to do anything tonight on offense. We are talking about a team that scored six points to the poor Redskins defense and they won't certainly score many more against a reasonable defense like the Panthers.
This is a great opportunity for Carolina to show the league that they are much better than their current record shows, as this is their last National TV game of the season. On the other hand, Philadelphia is absolutely desintegrated right now and I just don't see how they can stop the bleeding. They don't have anything working properly on their team and I just don't see how they can be competitive tonight against an underrated Panthers team. Therefore, I expect a comfortable win for Carolina and so, I'll be taking them in here.
Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 245 Carolina Panthers (-3) @ -105 / 1.95 on Bookmaker
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