Are Panthers an attractive home ’dog? You bet!
Underdogs went 12-4 ATS with nine outright upsets in the opening week of the NFL season.
The most shocking result was New Orleans’ 38-3 rout of Aaron Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers.
The look-ahead line on Sunday’s Saints-Panthers game was a pick ’em before New Orleans’ dominant win. But with the Saints’ stock soaring, oddsmakers made them 3.5-point favorites at Carolina.
We’ll buy low on the Panthers and back them as home underdogs after they opened their second season under coach Matt Rhule with a solid 19-14 home win over the Jets.
Carolina, which led 16-0 at halftime and 19-7 with two minutes left, got a solid performance from new quarterback Sam Darnold, 187 total yards from running back Christian McCaffrey and six sacks from its defense.
Here are four more plays:
PATRIOTS (-5.5) OVER JETS:
New England outgained Miami by 134 yards in a 1716 loss, but had eight penalties for 84 yards and lost a fumble by Damien Harris at the Dolphins’ 9-yard line with 3:18 left. New York lost massive starting left tackle Mekhi Becton to injury. That doesn’t bode well for rookie QB Zach Wilson, who was sacked six times in the Jets’ loss at Carolina. The Patriots have won 10 straight games against New York and are an NFL-best 46-23 ATS (66.7 percent) after a loss since 2003. Bill Belichick is 21-6 against first-year quarterbacks.
BILLS (-3) OVER DOLPHINS
Buffalo outgained Pittsburgh by 119 yards in its 23-16 home loss to the Steelers, who trailed 10-0 at halftime and returned a blocked punt for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Bills, who had the league’s second-highest scoring offense last season, crossed midfield on eight of their 11 possessions. Buffalo has won five straight against Miami by an average of 17 points. Bills QB Josh Allen has thrown for 17 TDs and four interceptions in that streak, with 340 yards rushing and three TDs.
BENGALS (+2.5) OVER BEARS
Cincinnati faces its former franchise quarterback in Chicago’s Andy Dalton, who led the Bengals to five straight playoff appearances but went 0-5. Cincinnati QB Joe Burrow looked sharp in his return from a torn ACL, completing 20 of 27 passes for 261 yards and two TDs to lead the Bengals to a 27-24 overtime win over the Minnesota Vikings. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins combined for nine catches for 159 yards and two TDs for a Cincinnati team on the rise. The Bears gave up TD passes of 56 yards and 67 yards in a 34-14 loss at the Rams and won’t move forward until they start rookie QB Justin Fields.
CHARGERS (-3) OVER COWBOYS
After Los Angeles lost 16 one-possession games the past two seasons under former coach Anthony Lynn, it won one in new coach Brandon Staley’s debut in a 20-16 victory at Washington. Second-year QB Justin Herbert threw for 337 yards, and the Chargers outgained the Football Team by 165 yards. Los Angeles should feast on a Dallas defense that allowed 431 yards in a 31-29 loss at Tampa Bay. The Cowboys will put up their share of points in a shootout, but the Chargers have the better defense, led by linebacker Joey Bosa.
a 3-0 start for the first time since opening the 2016 season with six consecutive wins.
Calzada was thrust into the job last weekend against Colorado when Haynes King was injured on A&M’s second possession. King had surgery this week to repair a broken right leg, leaving Calzada to run the offense.
NO. 8 CINCINNATI 38, INDIANA 24
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Desmond Ridder threw the goahead touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, then scored on a 7-yard TD run. Jerome Ford ran for two scores and Tre Tucker scored on a 99-yard kickoff return as the Bearcats (3-0) won their first road game of the season. They’ve won 12 of 13 since the start of 2020.
Indiana (1-2) lost despite taking a 14-0 lead — and playing in front of its largest crowd for a non-conference game since September 1987.
The turning point came when starting linebacker Micah McFadden was ejected for targeting late in the first half. The Bearcats, who struggled to move the ball, scored 10 points in the final 93 seconds of the first half and finally took the lead on Ford’s 3-yard TD run in the third quarter.
NO. 9 OHIO STATE 41, TULSA 20
COLUMBUS, Ohio — TreVeyon Henderson broke Archie Griffin’s 49-year-old freshman rushing record, romping for 277 yards and three touchdowns to help Ohio State beat Tulsa.
Henderson scored on runs of 5, 48 and 52 yards, which managed to paper over some of the same weaknesses Ohio State showed in a 32-25 loss to Oregon last week that sent the Buckeyes tumbling in the AP Top 25 poll.
As a team, the Buckeyes (2-1) were not sharp. But Tulsa (0-3) couldn’t match them blow for blow, and Henderson, who ran for 69 yards in the first two games combined, broke through with some huge plays at critical times. A late interception that Cameron Martinez returned for a 61-yard touchdown made the score look worse than it was for the persistent
Golden Hurricane.
NO. 12 NOTRE DAME 27, PURDUE 13
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Kyren Williams had two long touchdown plays, the second a 51-yard run with 6:05 remaining, and Notre Dame held off Purdue for its 26th straight victory at home.
The victory was the 105th in Brian Kelly’s 12-year career at Notre Dame, tying him with Knute Rockne as the winningest coach in school history. The Fighting Irish won their eighth straight over Purdue and first since 2014.
Williams, who scored on a fourth-and-3 pass play of 39 yards from Jack Coan early in the second quarter to give the Irish their first lead 7-3, finished with 86 yards on 11 carries and two receptions for 47 yards.
Coan, who was sacked four times and struggled with his accuracy, completed 15 of 31 for 223 yards and two touchdowns. He connected on a 62-yarder to Avery Davis in the third quarter that put the Irish up 17-6. Davis led the Irish in receptions with five for 120 yards.