Detroit Lions vs Carolina Panthers Prediction, 8/25/2023 NFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds Preseason

Game: Detroit Lions vs Carolina Panthers

Date: Friday, August 25, 2023

Location: Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: Panthers (-2)

Total/Over-Under: 37

Bank of America Stadium is the location where the Carolina Panthers (7-10 last year) will attempt to defeat the Detroit Lions (9-8 last season) on Friday. Detroit opens this matchup as 2-point underdogs from Vegas oddsmakers. The betting total is set at 37.

The Detroit Lions wrapped up their season with a 9-8 record. In their last game, the Lions went up against the Packers and notched a win by a score of 20-16. Jared Goff connected on 23/34 with 224 yards passing. He had a quarterback rating of 85.9 and finished the contest without throwing an interception. Jamaal Williams was the leader on the ground for the Lions with 16 carries for 72 yds (4.5 yards per carry). Kalif Raymond left with an average of 16.5 yds per reception by totaling 66 yds on 4 receptions. The Detroit Lions ended up rushing 25 times and recorded 104 yards, which earned them an average of 4.2 yards per attempt. At the end of the game, they had 60 plays for 323 yards. Detroit allowed 17 pass completions on 27 tries for 188 yards, and a completion percentage of 63.0%. Against the run, the Lions conceded 103 yards on 28 attempts, which is 3.7 yards per run surrendered.

Regarding scoring, the Detroit Lions had an average of 26.6 points per contest. As a unit they maintained an average of 128.2 yds via the ground game, giving them a rank of 11th in the National Football League. The Lions attained 6,460 total yards for the prior season. Detroit earned 228 1st downs as a unit, and they were called for 90 infractions for 773 yards. They gave the ball to the opposition 15 times (7 picks and 8 fumbles). Detroit compiled 29 passing touchdowns and 23 touchdowns on the ground.

In terms of passing yards, the Lions allowed 4,179 yards which ranked them 30th in football. In their 17 games played last year, they conceded 245.8 yards per contest via the pass in addition to relinquishing a completion percentage of 63.0%. They allowed 392.4 yards per outing which ranked them 32nd in the league. They yielded 26 touchdowns through the air and 22 touchdowns on the ground. They allowed 5.2 yards per rush and 146.5 rushing yards per contest last year. Overall, they conceded 2,491 running yards through 17 games. The Lions ranked 29th in the NFL when it comes to team defense, allowing 25.1 PPG.

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The Panthers ended the season with a 7-10 mark. The last time they took the field, the Panthers walked away with a victory by a final of 10-7 when they faced the Saints. Chuba Hubbard carried the ball 21 times for 69 yds, ending the game with 3.3 yds per carry for Carolina. Terrace Marshall Jr. was one of the featured targets for the Panthers, hauling in 2 balls for 23 yards (11.5 yards per catch). Sam Darnold finished the game with 43 yards on 5/15 through the air while his quarterback rating was 2.8. He threw 2 interceptions and his avg yards per attempt was 2.9 yards. Carolina allowed 32 rushing attempts for 143 yds (4.5 yards per carry). The Panthers passing defense conceded a completion percentage of 60.0%, surrendering 161 yards on 15 for 25 through the air. The Panthers finished the contest with 203 yds and they ran 58 plays (3.5 yds per play). Carolina rushed the football for 4.2 yards per tote, finishing the contest with 171 yards on 41 attempts.

The Carolina Panthers averaged 306.2 yards/game which had them sitting 29th in football. They held an average of 130.0 yards per game via the rush and rushed for 2,210 yards for the season. The Carolina offense accrued 862 penalty yards on 104 infractions, which had them ranked 10th in the league in terms of giving up free yards. They tossed 13 interceptions while surrendering 8 fumbles and they recorded 138 first downs. Last season, the Panthers threw for a total of 2,996 passing yards as well as averaging 176.2 passing yards per game, putting them at 29th in the league. When discussing their scoring prowess, the Panthers had a ranking of 20th in the NFL with 20.4 points per game.

The Panthers conceded 22.0 points per game, which had them ranked 19th in football. They gave up 25 touchdowns from the passing game as well as 227.5 yards per game, which had them sitting 22nd in the NFL. Last season, they relinquished 374 total points. Carolina allowed the opposition a total of 2,085 yards via the ground game (122.6 yards per outing) in addition to 17 touchdowns via the rush last season. The Panthers defense took the field for 1,103 plays, which was good for 28th in football. They compiled 17 takeaways (7 fumbles and 10 picks) for the previous season.

Who will win tonight's Lions/Panthers NFL game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Lions +2

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