Carolina Panthers vs. Seattle Seahawks Betting Preview
Where: CenturyLink Field, Seattle, WA
When: Sunday, December 4, 2016, 8:30 PM ET
Line: Carolina Panthers (+6.5) at Seattle Seahawks (-6.5); total: 45.0 – view all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: NBC
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Betting on the Carolina Panthers (+6.5)
Just when the Carolina Panthers finally got their offense going when they needed it most, they still ended up on the losing end of a 35-32 shootout against the Raiders in Oakland on Sunday. They are now three games under .500, which further muddles up their chances of making the postseason for the fourth-consecutive year.
Cam Newton was good but not great against Oakland, as he converted just half of his 28 passes for 246 yards, a pair of touchdowns and one interception. Jonathan Stewart had a much better afternoon running the ball, though, as he garnered 96 rushing yards on 17 carries and found the end zone twice.
All things taken into consideration, the Panthers impressively clawed their way back from a huge Raiders lead in halftime by scoring 25 unanswered points to start the second half. But that was until Oakland’s Derek Carr pulled off some late heroics to deal the Panthers another brutal defeat.
You can pretty much blame Sunday’s loss to Carolina’s defense, which didn’t have star linebacker Luke Kuechly (concussion) in the lineup. His absence was apparent against the Raiders, as it was the third time this season that the team has given up over 30 points to an opponent with a prolific offense – division rivals Atlanta and New Orleans being the other two teams.
The Panthers badly need Kuechly back to anchor the D, especially with a rematch of last year’s NFC Divisional Playoff game against the Seahawks in another West Coast road game on the horizon. And even though they’ve beaten Russell Wilson and co. in the two previous meetings, they’ve lost four of their five games away from Charlotte this season (1-3-1 ATS), with their only victory being a three-point squeaker over the underachieving Los Angeles Rams in Week 9.
Betting on the Seattle Seahawks (-6.5)
Like the Panthers, the Seattle Seahawks had a miserable Week 12 as they lost to the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay by a dismal score of 14-5. Not only did the Seahawks see their three-game winning streak come to an end, they also put up fewer than seven points in a contest for the third time this season.
Russell Wilson must’ve had an exhausting pre-game workout with his old lady Ciara, as he completed just 17 of 33 passes for 151 yards to go with a pair of picks. But all kidding aside, Wilson was once again the victim of his team’s and the league’s lowest-paid offensive line, which allowed the normally inept defense of the Bucs to sack the agile QB six times.
On the plus side, Wilson did rack up 80 rushing yards on eight carries. The other drawback to that stat, however, is that Seattle’s lead running back in Thomas Rawls mustered just 12 touches for 38 rushing yards. Rawls, who made his second-straight start on Sunday after a nasty leg injury kept him out action since Week 3, must be unleashed this coming Sunday against the Panthers to take a ton of pressure off of his team’s play-caller.
Then again, you can consider Wilson’s performance from Sunday as a minor blip, as he’s thrown for over 250 yards and six TDs with just one interception in the past four games prior to the match against the the Bucs. Furthermore, the Seahawks have been their customary dominant selves in CenturyLink Field this season, going undefeated through five home games this season (albeit with a meager record of 2-2-1 against the spread).
Writer’s Prediction
The Seahawks (-6.5) prevent another offensive meltdown from happening as they beat the Panthers, 27-20.
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