Carolina Panthers vs Detroit Lions

Both the Carolina Panthers and Detroit Lions look to get back on track following lopsided Week 10 defeats. For the Panthers (5-4 ATS, -3.5), they’ll be fighting to stay in the conversation for the NFC South Division race, while the host Lions (5-4 ATS, +3.5) are fighting just to stay in the NFC playoff picture. With both teams showing high-powered offenses, the total has been set at 50.5 points.

Panthers vs Lions Game Center

THIS SUNDAY I’M BETTING CAROLINA -3.5

While the Panthers are certainly shell-shocked following a 52-21 beating at Pittsburgh (on Thursday Night Football, no less), they have still been playing some great football. They’ve won five of their last seven games, with both the offense clicking and the defense much improved — Week 10 looked more like an anomaly against a red-hot Steelers team.

Unfortunately for Detroit, things have not been as rosy. Following consecutive wins against Green Bay and Miami, the Lions have since lost three straight games, all in decisive fashion. A 14-point defeat at home against Seattle was followed by a 24-9 road loss to Minnesota and last week’s 34-22 road defeat at Chicago in which the score was a bit misleading as they trailed 34-10 in the fourth quarter.

For the Lions, their losses have coincided with a breakdown on the offensive line: Detroit has averaged just 58.6 rushing yards per game over the last three contests, while allowing a whopping 19 sacks over that stretch. It’s also no surprise that quarterback Matthew Stafford has seen his QB rating drop each of the last five games, going from five straight games over the 100 mark, to 96.9, 83.0 and last week’s rating of 74.9.

It won’t get easier for Detroit, as Carolina had been playing much more inspired defense lately to go with a dynamic offense. Taking one on the chin as they did last week should get the Panthers fired up to come out hungry in Week 11. With a playoff berth still hanging in the balance for Carolina, whereas Detroit is all but done already with a 3-6 record, the Panthers need this win, and I’m betting they take care of business.

MCCAFFREY: CAROLINA’S SWISS ARMY KNIFE

When the Carolina Panthers drafted Christian McCaffrey eighth overall in last year’s NFL draft, they got one of the most dynamic running backs the league has seen in years. What makes McCaffrey so appealing is that he’s not your traditional bell-cow runner, but rather his skill set is perfectly tailored to the modern NFL game.

McCaffrey has only topped 20 carries in one career NFL game, but he is so active as a pass catcher that he still gets a full workload of touches.

The second-year running back leads the Panthers in rushing attempts and rushing yards, but also paces the team with 63 targets and 54 receptions and is second with 439 receiving yards. He’s fourth among all running backs in catches and receiving yards, and eighth among all backs with 1,018 yards from scrimmage.

Facing a Detroit defense that gives up 362 yards per game, including 132.7 on the ground per contest, McCaffrey should again expect to see a lot of action — and continue amassing stats for Carolina in every way possible.

WHO’S CATCHING PASSES FOR DETROIT?

In a matter of weeks, the Detroit Lions went from having a trio of dangerous pass catchers to potentially just one for Week 11.

While the emerging Kenny Golladay will be ready to suit up on Sunday, who starts across from him is up in the air. Golden Tate III was traded to Philadelphia prior to the NFL’s trade deadline, and Marvin Jones Jr. left last week’s game with a knee injury.

It’s unknown as of now whether Jones will be able to play against Carolina, but if he doesn’t, Detroit will likely start TJ Jones, a sixth-round pick four years ago. In last Sunday’s loss to Chicago, QB Matthew Stafford relied heavily on his running backs following Marvin Jones’ departure, as Theo Riddick and Kerryon Johnson combined for 12 of his 25 completions.

With a depleted wide receiver corps, we can expect to see a lot more check-down passes in Detroit’s future.