NY Giants at Carolina
Time: NOON CT (FOX)
Spread: CAR -7
Total: 43.5
Odds c/o 5dimes
The Carolina Panthers are coming off a 31-21 win over the Cincinnati Bengals last time out, and this week it hosts the New York Giants as 7-point favorites at Noon on FOX. Carolina is 2-0 at home this season and the game will feature an over/under of 43.5 points according to NFL oddsmakers at bookmaker 5dimes.
CAR
The Panthers thus far have already knocked off the Bengals and Cowboys, but in between it lost a 24-31 outing in Atlanta. Carolina sports a middle-of-the-pack offense, averaging 23.7 points per game, but it also possesses the No. 8 defense giving up just 20.0 points per game. Its offense is a product of great rushing, first and foremost by its dual-threat quarterback Cam Newton. Cam has rushed for the second-most yards on the team at 136, and he has a team-best three rushing TDs. His passing has been on-point too: 67.4 percent for completion, five TDs, and just one pick.
Though Newton has been sacked six times, his 28 rush attempts for 4.9 yards per offset that, and No. 1 backfield performer Christian McCaffrey has ben solid too. McCaffrey is averaging nearly six yards per attempt, though he has just one for 20-plus on the season. Both McCaffrey and Newton have 11 first downs on the year, and CJ Anderson has been good in limited attempts (12) with 70 yards on the season.
Newton’s top-two receivers has done work: Devin Funchess has caught 14 passes for 185 yards and a TD, while McCaffrey options as a receiver to the tune of 157 yards on the year, running mostly short pass routes to offset the work he does carrying the football. Carolina is not the most deadly offensive team, but it has enough—particularly with just how strong its defensive unit is.
NYG
The 1-3 Giants, meanwhile, are more of a disaster so to speak. It lost 18-33 to the New Orleans Saints a week ago, and it is 1-1 on the road where it faces the Panthers this week. New York’s offense is mostly to blame, because its defense has been astoundingly decent. The Giants rank No. 21 in passing yardage at 232.3 per game and No. 27 in rushing at just 82.0 yards per contest, good for 18.3 points overall, which ranks fifth-worst among NFL teams. Holding opponents to 23.8 points has done little good, not with the struggles that New York has had with its offense. There is hope: Eli Manning has been accurate for 74 percent completions, four TDs and just one pick—but he has ben sacked 15 times already for a total loss of 126 (!) yards.
Saquon Barkley has led the team in rushing and done nearly all of the work out of the backfield, but he has yet to really break out in the form most expect he eventually will. His yards-per-carry linger at a respectable 4.6, and he has 260 yards on the season with 13 first downs, but he is getting so little help from the rest of the running back group. Manning, in particular, has been horrible out of the pocket, rushing seven times for 10 yards, hardly more impressive than his 4.25 sacks per game.
If not for the monster Odell Beckham Jr has been, it would be hard to muster hope for this offense. One of the best at his position, Beckham has caught 31 passes for 331 yards and has five catches for 20-plus yards. What is astounding is that he has not gone end zone yet, while Sterling Shephard has 229 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Giants perhaps could begin to break through this week, but it will have to come against one of the league’s most stingy defensive units. This game has the potential to be much closer than its spread if the Giants put it all together, yet NFL oddsmakers do not seem to expect that to happen here in Week 5.
