Jets @ Panthers Preview
The Carolina Panthers will be looking to recover from a blowout loss against the New Orleans Saints that seriously damaged their credibility as Super Bowl contenders. The Panther will be looking to recover from that loss and possibly solidify a spot in the playoffs against the New York Jets.
The Panthers ego is damaged, but the Jets are far from unbeatable. The Jets barely edged out a 4-9 Oakland Raiders squad, 37-27. Â The Panthers playoff life is still alive and well but a loss to the Jets followed by a rematch with the Saints in Week 16 will put some serious doubts in a playoff run.
The Jets are running in a wide open AFC wild card race. Geno Smith will need to step up his game for his team and close out strong, starting by leading his team to a win over the Panthers.
Prior to last week’s loss to the Saints, the Panthers were red hot, winning eight in a row. Â Five of those wins were by double digits. However, the Panthers looked lost against the Saints. Â Newton had his worst outing since Week 1 of this season and the defense allowed Brees to pass all over them.
The Panthers do not consistently play like that, unfortunately for the Jets. Before that loss, the Panthers had only allowed 13 touchdowns through the air. This is a team that can defend the pass and do not forget that they have the number one run defense in the NFL.
The Panthers run defense are going to pose some problems for the Jets who are clearly a run-first team. The Jets average over 120 yards per game on the ground and have the eighth most rushing attempts in the NFL. In their last six win they averaged over 150 yards per game. When they lose they average just over 100 yards. Â Expect the Jets to not give up on establishing the run, because they know that statistically they need those rushing yards to win.
The Jets are surging almost in spite of quarterback Geno Smith. Smith has thrown only one touchdown to nine interceptions in his last six games. His defense and run game has been carrying him along. Â The Jets could use an excellent showing from Smith to make the task of taking down the Panthers a bit easier.
The Panthers are the 10 point favorites to win this game. The moneyline to bet on Carolina is set at -550. Â To bet on the Jets the moneyline is at +375. The over/under is set at 41 points. The game starts at 4:05 p.m. ET.
