Carolina Panthers vs New England Patriots Prediction, 8/8/2024 NFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds Preseason Week 1

Game: Carolina Panthers at New England Patriots

Date: Thursday, August 8, 2024

Location: Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA

TV: NFL NET

Odds/Point Spread: Patriots (-3)

Total/Over-Under: 34

The Carolina Panthers (2-15 last season) are hitting the road to Gillette Stadium on Thursday where they will take on the New England Patriots (4-13 last year). Carolina opens this game as 3-point underdogs. The over/under comes in at 34.

The Carolina Panthers wrapped up their year having earned a 2-15 record. The last time they stepped on the football field, the Panthers stepped onto the field against the Buccaneers and went home with a loss by a final score of 9-0. Chuba Hubbard was the rushing leader for the Panthers with 23 totes for 83 yds (3.6 yds per attempt). DJ Chark held an average of 23.0 yds per catch by totaling 46 yards on 2 receptions. Bryce Young connected on 11/18 with 94 yds passing. He had a quarterback rating of 74.8 and finished the contest without throwing a pick. In the running game, the Panthers conceded 113 yards on 29 tries, which is 3.9 yards per rush surrendered. Carolina relinquished 20 completions on 32 tries for a total of 115 yards, and a completion rate of 62.5%. In the game, they tallied 50 plays which gave them 199 yards. The Carolina Panthers ran the ball a total of 29 times and amassed 131 yards, which earned them an average of 4.5 yds per carry.

The Panthers attained 4,510 total yards last year. Carolina accumulated 150 1st downs as an offense, and they were called for 103 infractions for 845 yds. Carolina amassed 13 touchdowns through the air and 7 rushing touchdowns. They gave the ball to the opposition 20 different times (10 interceptions and 10 fumbles). As a team they held an average of 104.1 yards on the ground, which had them sitting 20th in the league. When talking about putting points on the board, the Carolina Panthers averaged 13.9 PPG.

Regarding passing yardage, the Panthers conceded 2,916 yards which put them in 3rd in the league. During their 17 games played last season, they yielded 171.5 yards per contest via the pass in addition to relinquishing a completion percentage of 64.2%. They gave up 293.9 yards per outing which had them sitting 4th in the NFL. They allowed teams to run for an average of 4.1 yards per rushing attempt and 122.4 rushing yards per contest for the previous year. During the campaign, they gave up 2,081 yards via the running game in 17 games. The Panthers were sitting in 29th in the NFL in terms of their opponents scoring, giving up 24.5 points per contest.

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The Patriots ended the year holding a 4-13 record. When they last stepped on the football field, the Patriots took a loss by a score of 17-3 against the Jets. Ezekiel Elliott ran the football 13 times for 54 yards, ending the contest with 4.2 yds per attempt for New England. Jalen Reagor was one of the featured targets for the Patriots, grabbing 1 balls for 33 yds (33.0 yds per catch). Bailey Zappe finished the game with 88 yds on 12/30 passing while his quarterback rate was 20.1. He threw 2 picks and his average yards per pass attempt was 2.9 yds. New England surrendered 42 run attempts for 185 yards (4.4 yards per rush). The Patriots passing defense allowed a completion rate of 40.0%, surrendering 69 yards on 8 out of 20 passing. The Patriots finished with 119 yards while they ran 58 plays (2.1 yds per play). New England ran the ball for 4.2 yards per tote, finishing the contest with 88 yds on 21 attempts.

When discussing how much they scored, the Patriots had a ranking of 31st in the NFL holding an average of 13.9 PPG. Last year, the Patriots earned 3,069 yards via the pass as well as averaging 180.5 passing yards per game, ranking them 28th out of all NFL teams. They had an average of 95.7 yards per game via the ground game and toted the ball for 1,627 yards for last year. The New England Patriots maintained an average of 276.2 yards per game ranking them 30th in the NFL. The New England offense racked up 676 penalty yards on 89 infractions, which was good for 25th in football in terms of giving up free yards. They tossed 21 interceptions while surrendering 8 fumbles and they earned 153 first downs.

They allowed the opposition 19 touchdowns through the air and 208.4 yards per outing, which had them ranked 11th in the league. New England allowed a total of 1,584 yards on the ground (93.2 yards per contest) and 14 touchdowns on the ground throughout last year. Last season, they conceded 366 total points. They earned 18 takeaways (8 fumbles and 10 interceptions) in the previous season. The Patriots defense took part in 1,091 plays, which was good for 23rd in the league. The Patriots surrendered 21.5 PPG, which put them in 15th of all teams in the NFL.

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

Tony's Pick: Take the Panthers +3

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