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We’ve successfully faded Carolina’s offense, and the Panthers as a whole, throughout this preseason, as head coach Dave Canales sat his top players against the Patriots and Jets. He said this week, though, that now that his offense is a bit healthier, Young and the Carolina first-stringers will get some live game action against Buffalo.
The Bills, on the other hand, have dealt with a few injuries already this preseason, and that’s why they’re going to play guys fighting for backup roles for most of this game.
The Panthers, who were 2-15 a year ago, being 4.5-point favorites on the road should tell you something. Vegas listing the game the way it has is a great sign this one might be all Carolina.
Best bet: Panthers -4.5 (best odds: -110 at bet365)
TV: NFL Network
For the most part, the teams that entered training camp with QB battles have mostly declared winners.
Gardner Minshew will be the Week 1 starter in Las Vegas. Rookie Bo Nix won the Broncos job with two strong showings earlier this preseason. In Minnesota, Sam Darnold has been named the Vikings’ top quarterback following rookie J.J. McCarthy’s season-ending knee injury earlier this month.
But in Pittsburgh, Mike Tomlin has yet to say whether Russell Wilson or Justin Fields will start for his team in Week 1. Wilson will start on Sunday, and according to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, everyone on the Pittsburgh roster who is healthy will play.
With Wilson and Fields both pushing to make their final case as the starting QB for this team, Pittsburgh should come up with a much better offensive performance against Detroit than it did earlier this preseason in two losses: 20-12 to Houston in Week 1 and 9-3 to Buffalo last week.
Dan Campbell’s Lions look like one of the best teams in the NFC this season. But given that they don’t have nearly as many questions to answer as Pittsburgh between now and the regular season, the Lions probably won’t be very competitive in this game.
Vegas agrees, as Pittsburgh is favored by as many as seven points in some places.
No argument from us there — take the Steelers laying the points in a crucial game for two quarterbacks with a ton of starting experience.
Best bets:
TV: CBS
The Broncos’ three-man QB competition produced quality offensive performances by this team in both Week 1 (Denver 34, Indianapolis 30) and Week 2 (Denver 27, Green Bay 2.)
Will we see another big day by the Broncos offense now that Bo Nix has been named the starter?
Yes.
That’s because there’s still motivation for Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson to show the Broncos — as well as the rest of the league — that they’re good enough to be backups, if not starters, for a team that ends up needing a quarterback at some point this season.
Don’t be surprised if the Cardinals — who are as young (and per most projections, bad) on defense as any team in the league — struggle to get stops against Stidham and/or Wilson (even if the latter ends up playing most of his snaps with Denver’s reserves).
Best bet: Broncos Team Total Over 20.5 (best odds: -105 at bet365)
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