It’s been a struggle so far for the Carolina Panthers, and playing at Detroit will not help their quest to pick up win No. 1. Let’s look at the odds for today’s matchup at Ford Field.
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Panthers vs. Lions Betting Lines, Start Time, and More
All odds from DraftKings Sportsbook.
- Spread: Lions -9.5
- Moneyline: Panthers (+380); Lions (-500)
- Over/Under: 44
- Game time: 1 p.m. ET
- Location: Ford Field
- Channel: FOX
Panthers vs. Lions Prediction
The Lions have basically lived up to the preseason hype placed on the team by many prognosticators. Detroit is atop the NFC North Division at 3-1, and even the loss at home in Week 2 to the Seahawks was decided in overtime.
On the other side, the Panthers didn’t have tremendously high expectations, but it’s doubtful anyone expected an 0-4 beginning to their season. With the Bears’ victory on Thursday, the Panthers are the league’s lone winless team.
It will not help Carolina’s chances that it is facing a Detroit team that has (finally?) found a defense. After allowing 28.5 PPG and 354.5 total YPG in their first two games, the Lions have held their last two opponents — Atlanta and Green Bay — to 13.0 points per game and 206.5 total yards per game.
Even more impressive for the Lions’ defense, they have 12 sacks over their last two games after posting just one in the first two weeks. Granted, the quarterbacks for these last two opponents — Desmond Ridder and Jordan Love — are relatively inexperienced to this point.
But guess who the Panthers are throwing out there at quarterback today? The No. 1 overall pick, Bryce Young. Now, Young has looked better of late — he had a 78% completion percentage and a 93.2 passer rating last week in the loss to the Vikings.
In three starts, Young has just two passing touchdowns and 503 passing yards. He is the only quarterback in the league who has at least two starts and has fewer than 600 passing yards and three TD passes.
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For the Lions, quarterback Jared Goff has not been sharp of late. He has thrown an interception in each of his last three games, after not throwing a pick in any of his previous 10 games dating back to last season. On the other hand, Goff loves playing at Ford Field, with 40 TD passes and eight interceptions in 19 games at home since joining the Lions in 2021.
But this game could be decided with the Lions’ running game. While rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs is questionable for this game (hamstring), leading rusher David Montgomery is more than capable of carrying the load in the backfield.
Montgomery is coming off a 32-carry effort against the Packers in Week 4, picking up 121 rushing yards and scoring three times. He became the first Lions running back to have at least 120 yards and three TDs on the ground since Barry Sanders back in 1998.
And not only are the Panthers 27th in the league in rush defense, allowing 136.3 rush ypg, they have 19 missed tackles on running plays this season, tied for fourth-most in the league. By himself, Montgomery has forced 19 missed tackles on running plays (tied for second-most in NFL).
For me, all signs seem to be pointing towards a low-scoring game, at least in terms of the final point total. Detroit’s defense has been solid in recent weeks, and with its running game looking sharp, the Lions could just grind out a win.
It doesn’t appear that a shootout would favor the Panthers if they want to pick up their first win of the season. Detroit is also banged up offensively, with injuries to Gibbs, as well as wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who is doubtful for the game (abdomen).
Take the under in this matchup. It could be 40-0, but that is still an under.
Best Bet: Under 44 points (-110 at DraftKings SportsBook)
