Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks, Qwest Field, Seattle, WA
Sunday, December 5, 2010, 4:15 pm EST, TV: FOX
Opening Line: Seahawks -6.5
Current Line: Seahawks -6
Opening Total: 40
Current Total: 40
Money Line: Seahawks -250 / Panthers +210
The Seattle Seahawks (5-6) are tied atop the NFC West division despite a losing record and can reach the .500 mark on Sunday with a win over the struggling Carolina Panthers (1-10). The Seahawks (-6) have won the division four of the last six years, but they have dropped four of their last five following an impressive 4-2 start to put them even with St. Louis for the NFC West lead.
Meanwhile, the Panthers have been anything but impressive this year. They are mired in their second five-game losing streak of the season with a 23-20 home win over San Francisco sandwiched in between. Kicker John Kasay nearly ended the team’s latest skid, but his 42-yard field goal as time expired at Cleveland hit the left upright and resulted in a 24-23 loss.
Rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen returned to action after he sat out the previous week’s 37-17 home loss to Baltimore with a concussion, and he threw for 195 yards in leading Carolina to its highest point total of the season. Clausen fell to 0-5 as a starter in the NFL and hopes the running game can help take some pressure off him when he faces Seattle.
Running back Jonathan Stewart rushed 12 times for 98 yards against the Browns in his first game since Week 9 against New Orleans due to a concussion. Mike Goodson added 14 carries for 55 yards and scored a touchdown after rushing for 100 yards or more in the previous two games.
The Seahawks are coming off an embarrassing 42-24 home loss to Kansas City last week, surrendering a season-high 503 yards. They have given up 487 yards or more in each of their last four losses but should not feel threatened by a Panthers offense that ranks dead last in the NFL in scoring offense (12.7 points per game) and yards per game (259.2).
Offensively, Seattle would love to see running back Marshawn Lynch break out against Carolina. Lynch has rushed for more than 48 yards only once in the last eight games, including the last seven with the Seahawks. He ran for just 20 yards on seven carries last week and has not carried the ball more than 13 times since Week 7 when he had a season-high 89 yards on 24 attempts.
Seattle has dropped its last two home games by a combined score of 83-31 with the total going OVER both times. In fact, the OVER has cashed in the last four games for the Seahawks along with three straight for the Panthers.
If you are betting this football game between the Seahawks & Panthers, don’t miss the winning NFL picks packages we offer. You can also get free winners on our free NFL picks page.
