Sunday Night Football sees the Detroit Lions take on the Carolina Panthers at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Both offenses have been hot recently and will be looking to continue their success in this matchup.
Detroit bounced back from their 41-31 defeat to the Buffalo Bills in Week 2 with a 31-24 victory over the New York Jets last week to take their record to 2-1 after an overtime success over the New Orleans Saints in Week 1.
After reaching the postseason with Dan Campbell in their last two seasons, expectations remain high in Detroit and they will need to keep up their winning ways if they are to keep pressure on their divisional rival Minnesota Vikings, who won their opening three games.
The Lions visit Charlotte to take on the Carolina Panthers, who are reeling from their 21-18 loss to the Cleveland Browns last week. With a bye week coming up for the Panthers, a win would be huge for morale after being on either side of blowout victories in the first two weeks of the season.
In Week 1, Carolina lost 59-37 to the Chicago Bears before taking out their own frustrations on the Atlanta Falcons, winning 34-3. At 1-2, the Panthers still have plenty to prove.
Lions vs. Panthers Betting Picks and Predictions
Over 50.5 points (-120)
It is only Week 4 of the NFL season but the injuries are already starting to pile up for the Carolina Panthers, particularly in their secondary.
Their two outside cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson will be absent for this game and that could lead to this game being even more of a shootout than it already looked likely to be.
In a surprising turn of events the Panthers’ Bryce Young leads the NFL in passing yards with 939 and he is facing one of the worst pass defences in the league.
Detroit rank 28th in opponent completion percentage and last in passing yards per game (299.3). That spells trouble against a quarterback who looks to be finally finding his feet in the league.
Carolina have problems of their own though, allowing 5.7 yards per carry, the highest in the league. With Jahmyr Gibbs lining up in the Detroit backfield, that will be a big concern for the home team.
Gibbs has 307 rushing yards in three games and has already run in four touchdowns, to add to 156 yards receiving and two TDs.
Both defenses are struggling in different ways and that looks set to lead to a high-scoring clash, so take the over.
Darren Waller to score a TD (+235)
The Lions have struggled this season against tight ends, allowing the most targets, receptions, yards and touchdowns and so it’s worth backing Darren Waller to have a big game for the Panthers.
The 34-year-old already has two touchdowns this season and against a defense which struggles badly against tight ends, he could be set for another.
His chances have also been boosted by injuries to Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker, which should see Waller pick up more targets.
Over 2.5 Detroit Lions sacks (-160)
Despite the fact that Bryce Young leads the NFL in passing yards this season, the Panthers are still struggling to protect their quarterback.
They rank 23rd in the league for pressure rate and with the Lions having 12 sacks in three games, Young could spend plenty of time on the ground.
Side with the Lions to have three or more sacks against an offensive line which has struggled at the start of the year and a Panthers team which does not have much of a running game to lean on.
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Lions vs. Panthers odds
DET Lions | -205 |
CAR Panthers | +170 |
Spread | DET Lions -3.5 |
Total | O/U 50.5 |
Lions vs. Panthers player props
Anytime touchdown
Jahmyr Gibbs (DET Lions) | -340 |
Chuba Hubbard (CAR Panthers) | -140 |
Amon-Ra St. Brown (DET Lions) | -125 |
Tetairoa McMillan (CAR Panthers) | +150 |
Sam LaPorta (DET Lions) | +185 |
Jalen Coker (CAR Panthers) | +200 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
