The New York Giants (+7) are making a trip south to battle the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Kickoff for this matchup is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET and interested parties can watch the action on FOX.
Betting Preview: Carolina Panthers vs. New York Giants
The Giants come into this Sunday NFC game as the dog here and are currently getting 7 points. The Giants are also receiving +230 moneyline odds while the Panthers are -280. Vegas has determined the over/under (O/U) to be 44 points, and if one squad can get out in front in the early stages, it will likely produce a solid betting opportunity in-game.
Square bettors are hammering the Panthers, as the line opened at -6. The game’s O/U has yet to move after being initially set at 44.
The Giants have lost 0.8 units so far in 2018 and are 1-3 against the spread (ATS). They’ve been a good under bet and have posted an O/U record of 1-3.
The Panthers have gained 1.0 unit this season. The team is 2-1 ATS and has an O/U record of 2-1.
The Giants have gone 1-3 straight up (SU) in 2018 while the Panthers are 2-1 SU.
The G-Men are reeling from a 33-18 loss to New Orleans last week in which Eli Manning completed 31 passes on 41 attempts for 255 yards and one touchdown. Saquon Barkley (44 yards on 10 rush attempts, one TD) led the ground attack in the loss. Sterling Shepard (10 receptions, 77 yards, one TD) and Odell Beckham Jr. (seven catches, 60 yards) handled the receiving duties.
The Carolina Panthers are coming off of a 31-21 win over Cincinnati. The team’s defensive secondary let the Bengals air it out for 352 yards and two touchdowns. Tyler Boyd had a good outing in the loss, recording 132 yards on six catches for Cincinnati. For Carolina, Cam Newton completed 15-of-24 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Christian McCaffrey (184 rushing yards on 28 attempts) and the signal-caller Newton (36 yards on 10 carries, two TDs) led the ground game in the win while Devin Funchess (four receptions, 67 yards, one TD) and Ian Thomas (three catches, 20 yards) led the pass-catching attack.
New York has run the ball on 35.2 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Carolina has an overall rush percentage of 48.9 percent. The Giants have produced 82.0 rush yards/game and have three touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Panthers are totaling 166.0 rush yards per game and have four total rushing TDs.
If 2018 results are any indication, then the Panthers may be the more disruptive team in the trenches, as their offensive line has allowed only six sacks while their D-line has registered eight sacks. The Giants O-line has allowed 15 sacks and their defense has created only five sacks.
The G-Men offense has logged 263.8 yards/contest through the air overall and has four passing TDs so far. The Panthers have put up 215.3 pass yards per contest and have five total pass scores.
New York appears to hold the upper hand when it comes to limiting the pass. The team has allowed opponents to rush for an average of 126.0 yards and pass for 237.0 yards per game. The Carolina defense has given up 264.7 yards per game to opposing passers and 110.0 yards per game to opposing runners. The Panthers are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 5.36 to opposing QBs, while the Giants have given up a 6.61 ANY/A.
Passing-wise, Manning is up to 758 yards this season. He’s completed 71 percent of his 122 attempts with two passing scores and one interception. Manning’s got a 4.95 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number sits at 7.26 over the past two outings.
Saquon Barkley (178 rushing yards, two rush TDs, 158 receiving yards on the year), Odell Beckham Jr. (222 receiving yards) and Sterling Shepard (149 receiving yards, one TD) have each played big roles lately.
Cam Newton has managed to complete 32-of-50 passes for 311 yards, two TDs and zero INTs for Carolina. His ANY/A stands at 6.17 for the season and 7.22 across his past two games.
Similar to the Giants, expect a balanced attack offensively from Carolina this Sunday. Christian McCaffrey, Devin Funchess and Cam Newton have combined to account for 555 total yards and three touchdowns over the last two games.
New York Giants at Carolina Panthers NFL Prediction
SU Winner: Panthers, ATS Winner: Panthers, O/U: Over
Betting Trends
- The Carolina defensive unit has notched eight sacks on the year while New York has five.
- Carolina has lost one fumble this season while the New York offense has let four get away.
- The Giants offense has recorded zero pass plays of 40 yards or more, while the Panthers have put up one such play.
- Both teams have allowed one pass play of 40 or more yards and five pass plays of 30+ yards.
- Both teams have produced three rushing plays of 20+ yards. The New York offense has recorded nine running plays of 10+ yards while Carolina has accounted for 18 such plays.
- The Giants defense has allowed two rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while the Panthers have given up three such runs.
- Carolina was favored by 3 points in its last matchup and the O/U going into it was 44. The over cashed and Carolina covered in the 31-21 victory over Cincinnati.
- Over its last three games, Carolina is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
- In its last three contests, New York is 1-2 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
- New York was the underdog by 3 points in its last game and the Over/Under going into it was 51.5. The under cashed and New York failed to cover in the 33-18 loss to New Orleans.
- As a team, New York has averaged 4.3 yards per carry over its last two outings.
- Carolina has averaged 5.9 yards per carry over its last two.
