The New England Patriots will travel to Bank of America Stadium to take on the Carolina Panthers this Sunday afternoon in NFL action.
The New England Patriots won their 2nd straight game and improved to 4-4 on the season after defeating the Los Angeles Chargers, 27-24, this past Sunday. New England came up with a few big defensive plays against Justin Herbert and the Chargers offense and was able to take the lead for good on a 26-yard pick-six by Adrian Phillips with 10:11 left in the 4th quarter. New England was outgained by Los Angeles by a 369-352 margin, however, won the turnover battle by a 2-1 margin in the victory. Leading the way for the Patriots RB Damien Harris who had 80 rushing yards & 1 TD on 23 carries.
On the season, New England is averaging 25.8 ppg on 369.4 total yards per game (268.1 passing yds/g; 101.3 rushing yds/g). Offensively, New England has been led by RB Damien Harris who has 517 rushing yards & 6 TD on 118 carries. QB Mac Jones has completed 68.1% of his passes for 1997 yards (256.5 passing yds/g), 9 TD, & 6 INT. The top receiving threats for the Patriots have been Jakobi Meyers (45 rec, 427 yards), Kendrick Bourne (26 rec, 388 yards, 2 TD), Nelson Agholor (22 rec, 335 yards, 2 TD), & Hunter Henry (25 rec, 297 yards, 4 TD).
Defensively, New England is allowing their opponents to average 20.5 ppg on 368.0 total yards per game (255.3 passing yds/g; 112.8 rushing yds/g).
The Carolina Panthers snapped their 4-game losing streak and improved to 4-4 on the season after defeating the Atlanta Falcons, 19-13, this past Sunday. Carolina was outstanding defensively against the Falcons and pulled away later after a 6-yard TD run by Chuba Hubbard gave the Panthers a 19-10 lead with 6:30 left in the 4th quarter. Carolina outgained Atlanta by a 332-213 margin and won the turnover battle by a 2-1 margin in the victory. Leading the way for the Panthers was RB Chuba Hubbard who had 82 rushing yards & 1 TD on 24 carries.
On the season, Carolina is averaging 20.6 ppg on 345.4 total yards per game (230.9 passing yds/g; 114 .5 rushing yds/g). Offensively, Carolina has been led by WR DJ Moore who has 50 receptions for 645 yards & 3 TD. QB Sam Darnold has completed 60.8% of his passes for 1814 (248.8 passing yds/g), 7 TD, & 8 INT while also rushing for 176 yards & 5 TD. Leading the way for the Carolina backfield has been Chuba Hubbard who has rushed for 391 yards & 2 TD on 108 carries. The other top receivers for the Panthers have been Robby Anderson (18 rec, 204 yards, 2 TD), Brandon Zylstra (8 rec, 139 yards, TD), & Ian Thomas (11 rec, 130 yards).
Defensively, Carolina is allowing their opponents to an average of 19.9 ppg on 314.4 total yards per game (207.6 passing yds/g; 106.8 rushing yds/g).
The Patriots are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games on grass, however, just 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games as a favorite. The Panthers are 3-7-1 ATS in their last 11 games as a home underdog and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
Carolina was impressive last week in a solid win at Atlanta, however, it’s hard to imagine the Panthers offensive having much success in this one as Sam Donald has never had any success against Bill Belichick and the Patriots defense. New England is going to have a tough time on their own right putting points up on the scoreboard, however, the offense has started to look better than what we saw last season after putting up a combined 81 points over the last two week. Points are going to be hard to come by in this one, however, as I like that the Patriots are starting to let Mac Jones to air it out a bit, I think New England wins this one by a TD and covers this spread. Good Luck!
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
