Carolina Panthers vs New England Patriots Prediction NFL Picks 8/8/24

The Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots meet Thursday in NFL preseason week 1 action at Gillette Stadium. Here’s a Carolina Panthers vs New England Patriots Prediction. This article will include a Carolina Panthers vs New England Patriots Pick.

Carolina Panthers Betting Preview

The Carolina Panthers won two games last season, haven’t made the playoffs since 2017 and now begin the Dave Canales era. Canales is 43 years old and is a head coach for the first time. The Panthers can only hope quarterback Bryce Young takes a stop forward after a spotty rookie season that included 59.8 percent completions with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Panthers added receivers Diontae Johnson and David Moore, while they drafted receiver Xavier Legette and running back Jonathan Brooks.

The Panthers offensive line should also be better with the additions of Damien Lews and Robert Hunt. Only time will tell, but there’s pressure on Young with how quickly many other young quarterbacks have success rather early.  Defensively, the Panthers have question marks when you consider they lost Brian Burns, Donte Jackson and Frankie Luvu. That’s a key player gone at every level of the Panthers defense. The Panthers have the worst odds to win the Super Bowl at the time of this article. So, do what you will with that information.

New England Patriots Betting Preview

The New England Patriots have missed the postseason in three of the last four seasons, and have a head coach not named Bill Belichick for the first time since 1999. The Patriots begin the Jerod Mayo era, a first time head coach and two-time Pro Bowl selection as a player for the Patriots. The Patriots have offensive line concerns, limited weapons and questions at quarterback. How quickly can Drake Maye hit the ground running as a rookie? Jacoby Brissett has shown flashes at times, but he’s a journeyman for a reason.

Defensively, the Patriots secondary has a chance to be great with the return of Christian Gonzalez, and him being paid with Jabrill Peppers and Jonathan Jones. There’s also a special tandem up front in Matthew Judon and Christian Barmore. The Pats defense will lead the way until the offense finds an identity. For the first time in two decades, there are serious concerns about the Patriots direction and how quickly this transition will last. It was a hell of a run in New England.    

Carolina Panthers vs New England Patriots Prediction

The Patriots should be favored when you consider the Panthers are arguably the worst team in the league. However, let’s not act like the Patriots are world beaters, as they’re going through a transition from top to bottom and have major questions on offense. A quarterback trio of Brissett, Drake Maye and Bailey Zappe has potential to be fun in the preseason, but laying nearly a full touchdown in exhibition play isn’t what I’m doing. I’m not eager to lay more than three points in preseason play, as most of these games are coin flips with so many players going in and out. We’re getting 6.5 free points!!! I don’t care what the Panthers roster looks like. Give me the points.