Carolina Panthers vs New England Patriots Point Spread Picks

Carolina's defense was bad last year, including preseason allowing 27, 21, and 26 points. New coach Dave Canales did a great job with QBs Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield in back-to-back years in Seattle and Tampa Bay. They've upgraded the wide receiver corps, though the defense still looks thin and weak. The Panthers are on a 16-6 run OVER the total in preseason. New England has veteran QBs Jacoby Brissett and Bailey Zappe to assist rookie Drake Maye, the third overall pick. With Bill Belichick gone, it's very likely New England's defense won't be as strong. Take Carolina/New England OVER the total. 

Reports are that there's a quarterback battle going in on Carolina but don't believe it. Baker Mayfield is easily the best QB, so the preseason will see who his backup will be. And it's not a pretty picture with Sam Darnold, Matt Corral, and P.J. Walker. RB Christian McCaffrey makes this offense click but the often-injured star won't play. Carolina's offense hasn't shown much under coach Matt Ruhle in preseason averaging 15.6 points in three preseason Week 1-2 contests. The New England offense has struggled in camp because of changes with Bill Belichick having Matt Patricia and Joe Judge split play-calling duties. Longtime offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left to take the Las Vegas job. The last five preseason tilts between these teams have gone UNDER the total, the most recent was in 2019 a 10-3 final. Even the regular season meeting last year was a 24-6 final and this shapes up as another defensive duel. Take the UNDER for a Max Play.

None other than Jarrett Stidham led New England to a comeback victory over the Titans in Week 2 when he threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Damoun Patterson with 4:12 left. Brian Hoyer finished 6-of-8 for 55 yards as the Patriots showed they have plenty of quarterback depth coming into this week's game against Carolina. Stidham completed 14-of-19 for 193 yards with no interceptions. Damien Harris rushed for 80 yards on 14 carries and Jakobi Meyers had six catches for 82 yards. Carolina did not play Cam Newton in its loss to the Bills and the Panthers did not look good while committing five holding penalties in the first half and their three quarterbacks combined for 22-of-42 for 155 yards and a 62.1 QB rating. Newton is expected to play in three or four series this week, but he'll be rusty after coming back from shoulder surgery. The Patriots have won and covered their first two games improving Bill Belichick's preseason record to 55-44 straight-up and 49-43-7 ATS. Also, both games went UNDER and this week the Pats face the Panthers, who looked bad and undisciplined on offense against Buffalo. Take the Patriots and the UNDER.