The Panthers haven’t inspired a ton of confidence so far this season, losing their first two games at home and finding themselves at the bottom of the NFC South standings heading into Week 3.
Nevertheless, Carolina is considered a 2.5-point favorite for this week’s matchup against the Cardinals in Arizona, according to BetMGM.
The Panthers actually opened with even better odds, starting out at as 3.5-point favorites. Clearly, bettors believed that was too generous and it’s not hard to see why. During the first two weeks of the season, Cam Newton has looked like the quarterback his laziest and low-key racist critics have painted him as his whole career. If he and Norv Turner don’t turn things around fast, this team will be out of the playoff race very soon.
The good news for Carolina is that the Cardinals (0-1-1) are still very much a work in progress. They have a first-year head coach in Kliff Kingsbury and a rookie quarterback in Kyler Murray, who has also been a bit inaccurate to begin the season. Then again, he’s also shown a knack for hitting deep targets, especially Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk. Former Panthers wide receiver/kick returner Damiere Byrd has also flashed for them.
On the other side of the ball, Arizona now has Vance Joseph calling the plays on defense. Terrell Suggs joined that group in the offseason and they’ve performed better than expected so far. EDGE Chandler Jones remains their best player – he’s posted 30 sacks over the last two seasons.
