Carolina Panthers vs Philadelphia Eagles.
Stadium: Bank of America, Charlotte.
One of the most exciting matches in the first slot of Sunday’s Week 5 NFL program will be in Charlotte. The local Panthers will take on the Philadelphia Eagles. The opponents approach the upcoming matchup with a diametrically opposite win-loss balance - 3-1 for Carolina, 1-3 for Philadelphia. Will the Panthers confirm their status as the better team? Let’s pick a few bets at once.
Carolina were without McCaffrey and immediately lost
The Panthers got off to a great start to the new season with three straight wins - at home over New Orleans 26-7 and the New York Jets 19-14 and away over Houston 24-9. In Week 4, the first loss happened as Carolina failed to beat Dallas 28-36 away. The first loss coincided with Christian McCaffrey missing his first game due to injury. One of the league’s best runners might not play against Philadelphia either. Does this mean the Panthers will have problems against the Eagles as well?
There is certainly no direct impact on the outcome here. Carolina, which is in its second season under Matt Rhule, is balanced and strong, not just with Christian McCaffrey. The failure in Dallas is solely due to the power of today’s Cowboys. That said, the Panthers scored more points in this game than in all their previous winning games.
Quarterback Sam Darnold, who moved to Carolina from the New York Jets, is proving to be excellent this new season. He has 1,189 yards passing, five touchdowns on three interceptions, and already has five touchdowns on takeaways. It’s not just McCaffrey.
Philadelphia are still at the bottom
The previous season was a terrible one for the Phils. The team had only four wins, which, of course, led to a significant change in the offseason. Doug Pederson, Philadelphia’s 2017 champion coach, was replaced by Nick Sirianni, the offensive coordinator from Indianapolis. Sirianni has never held a head coaching position before, so it’s hard to predict where his appointment could bring the Eagles. So far, though, the predictions are disappointing. They got only one win in Week 1 over a dying Atlanta and three losses, to San Francisco, where the Phils could only muster 11 points; to Dallas and the Kansas City Chiefs, where the Eagles allowed 41 and 42 points, respectively.
The only bright spot for Philadelphia tonight was quarterback Jalen Hurts. Before the championship began, there were concerns about whether Hurts could become a quality mainstay. So far, they haven’t lived up to them. The 53rd pick of the 2020 draft already has seven touchdowns on just two interceptions and 1,167 yards per pass.
Expert Betting Tips
The favourite for the upcoming game is easy to spot. Carolina start the season with a 3-1 balance, showing the 3rd most efficient defence in the league and making good use of new quarterback Sam Darnold. On the other hand, A revamped Philadelphia doesn’t seem to know how to get results. Frankly, Nick Sirianni’s project looks dubious, and not sure it will end up being so for the rest of the championship.
The prediction is a convincing win for Carolina.
Betting options:
- Handicap 1 (-3.5) for 1.94;
- Individual Total 2 Under 20.5 for 1.73.