The Carolina Panthers have gone from being an apparent strong Super Bowl candidate to being among the most disappointing teams in the league, as they are now entrenched in a funk. They will hope to turn things around for the better this weekend against the Cleveland Browns, who are gunning for their fifth win of the season.
NFL Futures have the Panthers priced at +10,000 to win the Super Bowl and +5,000 to take the NFC while the Browns are listed at the bottom of the AFC North with +25,000 to prevail against all odds to take their division.
Things are getting worse and worse for the Panthers each passing week. Their losing streak is now at five games after a 24-17 defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road last Sunday. Cam Newton was a massive disappointment for the Panthers in that game. While he had 300 yards on 28-of-41 completions with a pair of touchdowns, he repeatedly shot the Panthers in the foot with four interceptions. On the bright side for the Panthers is the consistently productive play of running back Christian McCaffrey, who had 106 rushing yards on 10 receptions. The Panthers are also hoping wide receiver Curtis Samuel could duplicate his performance in the Bucs game in which he paced Carolina with 88 receiving yards on six catches and 11 targets. McCaffrey and Samuel can put up the same numbers again against Cleveland’s defense that ranks 28th against the pass and run.
The under is 4-1 in the Panthers’ last five games away from home.
Betting on the Cleveland Browns (4-7-1)
The Browns got the best and worst of Baker Mayfield in last Sunday’s 29-13 road loss to the Houston Texans. The rookie gunslinger passed for 397 passing yards on 29-of-43 completions with a touchdown, but also threw three interceptions. The passing yards and the picks were both career highs. Mayfield, however, can get it going again against Carolina’s defense that has allowed over 340 total yards in its last three outings. If anything, at least the Browns have felt the presence of star wide receiver Jarvis Landry again. Landry had not surpassed 50 receiving yards in each of the Browns’ four games prior to the meeting with Houston, but against the Texans, Juice had 103 receiving yards on six receptions. On the other side of the ball, the Browns are hoping to find success anew in the pass rush. They sacked Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson four times, which sends a strong message to Carolina’s offensive line that surrendered four sacks to Tampa Bay.
The Browns are 4-2 ATS in their last six home games.
