Carolina Panthers (0-2) vs Pittsburgh Steelers (3-0)
Game Info: Friday, August 27, 2021 at 7:30 pm (Bank of America Stadium)
Betting Odds: Carolina Panthers +3.5 -- Over/Under: 35 Click Here for the Latest Odds
The Pittsburgh Steelers will travel to Bank of America Stadium to take on the Carolina Panthers this Friday night in NFL Preseason action.
The Pittsburgh Steelers come into this game with a perfect 3-0 record in the NFL Preseason with their latest victory coming last week in a 26-20 victory against the Detroit Lions. Pittsburgh was impressive in the 1st half against the Lions and held on late after going into halftime with a 20-0 lead. Pittsburgh outgained Detroit by a 401-288 margin and didn’t commit a turnover in the victory. QB Ben Roethlisberger saw his first action of the preseason and looked solid completing 8 of 10 passes for 137 yards & 2 TD. Pittsburgh got solid QB play by both their backups as Mason Rudolph completed 13 of 18 passes for 138 yards while Dwayne Haskins completed 4 of 7 passes for 56 yards. The top receivers for the Steelers were Eric Ebron (4 rec, 59 yards), Najee Harris (2 rec, 53 yards), JuJu Smith-Schuster (5 rec, 39 yards), & Pat Freiermuth (2 rec, 19 yards, 2 TD). Leading the way for the Pittsburgh backfield was Kalen Ballage (7 car, 30 yards) & Jaylen Samuels (7 car, 16 yards).
Defensively, Pittsburgh is allowing their opponents to average 13.0 ppg during the preseason. In their previous game against the Lions, the Steelers defense was led by Miles Killebrew (6 tackles), Robert Spillane (4 tackles), & Marcus Allen (4 tackles, 0.5 sacks).
The Carolina Panthers are still searching for their first win of the NFL preseason as the Panthers fell to 0-2 after being defeated by the Baltimore Ravens, 20-3, this past Saturday. Carolina took an early 3-0 lead on a 41-yard FG by Joey Slye, however, the Panthers offense had trouble generating anything else the rest of the way and could not fight back after Baltimore took a 10-3 lead going into the 4th quarter. Carolina was outgained by Baltimore by a 354-189 margin and had only 8 first downs in the loss. Offensively, Carolina was led by QB Will Grier who completed 11 of 14 passes for 144 yards. The top receiving targets for the Panthers were Terrance Marshall Jr (3 rec, 50 yards), Shi Smith (2 rec, 35 yards), & Tommy Tremble (2 rec, 18 yards). Leading the way for the Carolina backfield was Chuba Hubbard who had 24 rushing yards on 9 carries while also catching 2 passes for 29 yards.
Defensively, Carolina was able to force two Baltimore turnovers, however, they still had trouble slowing the Baltimore offensive attack. Leading the way for the Panthers defense was Josh Bynes (9 tackles), Clay Johnston (8 tackles), & Sean Chandler (6 tackles).
The Steelers are 10-3 ATS in their last 13 games as a road underdog and 23-8-2 ATS in their last 33 games as an underdog. The Panthers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games as a favorite and 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games as a home favorite.
Pittsburgh has looked good this preseason, however, it looks like the Steelers will be sitting most of their first-string players and will be rolling with Dwyane Haskins as both Ben Roethlisberger & Mason Rudolph will be sitting. Carolina on the other hand, will be playing their starters for what we should expect for the entire 1st half, including the newly acquired Sam Darnold, and as I expect that the Panthers offense won’t have trouble putting up some points against the Steelers in this one, I think the play here is to take Carolina to cover this spread. Good Luck!
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Brett’s Pick Carolina Panthers -3.5
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
Mitch's Take...
