The Green Bay Packers (10-3) will try to pick up some ground on the New Orleans Saints in the race for the NFC’s No. 1 seed on Saturday night when they host the Carolina Panthers (4-9) as big home favorites at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. The Packers and Saints currently have the same record, but Green Bay would win the tiebreaker based on the team’s head-to-head victory at New Orleans back in Week 3.
- Date/Time: December 19, 8:15 p.m. ET
- Stadium: Lambeau Field
- TV Coverage: NFL Network
- Sportsbook Odds: Packers -9 | O/U 51 (Line History)
- Panthers vs Packers Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
Interestingly, the line has dropped slightly on the Packers in early betting action, as most books had them listed at -8.5 as of late Monday, with the total sitting at 51 or 51.5 points. It also would not be surprising to see the line start moving in the other direction leading up to kickoff since Green Bay is such a public team. The biggest concern for bettors at this point of the season with big favorites who are in the playoff hunt is that many are simply looking to earn a win rather than pile on style points to cover the spread.
Carolina News & Notes
Following a promising start to the year under first-year head coach Matt Rhule, the Panthers have dropped seven straight games with quarterback Teddy Bridgewater starting after a 32-27 loss to the Denver Broncos as 4-point home favorites last week.
Carolina did pick up a 20-0 win over the Detroit Lions in Week 11, but it was P.J. Walker under center due to a knee injury for Bridgewater. The Panthers have little to play for the rest of the season now, although they are well-coached and showed that again vs the Broncos in battling back from double-digit deficits multiple times in the game.
Bridgewater went 1-2 against Green Bay when he played with the Minnesota Vikings, winning at Lambeau Field to close out the 2015 regular season for the NFC North title.
Green Bay News & Notes
The Packers have been a team with talented offensive players over the past decade, led by NFL MVP candidate Aaron Rodgers. However, the trouble they have had recently is staying healthy heading into the postseason, something that has played a big role in Rodgers only making one Super Bowl appearance in his career.
They have also been burned at times by taking their foot off the gas and letting their opponents back into games. A case in point came last week in a 31-24 victory against the Detroit Lions, as Green Bay failed to cover the spread as a 9-point road favorite despite leading twice by double digits in the fourth quarter.
The Packers are definitely the superior team again here, but they also might have trouble winning by double digits if they want to rest their players too.
Betting Pick: UNDER 51.5
What is the motivation for Green Bay here? Winning the game and moving on with a healthy roster. That is all, unless you believe Rodgers might want to pad his stats for his MVP battle with Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs. But you can bet neither one of them cares more about that hardware than the Vince Lombardi Trophy. That is why the Packers will most likely look to build an early lead and relax as the total goes UNDER.
- The Packers are 11-1 SU in their last 12 home games.
- The Panthers are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 road games.
- The OVER is 7-1 in the past 8 meetings.
