Panthers at Seahawks (-3.5) – 43.5 total

The Panthers will travel to Seattle for an afternoon tilt with a Seahawks team that has outperformed expectations more than any other in the NFL this season. With their sights set on a playoff spot, this matchup with a four-win Carolina team should be the perfect opportunity for Geno Smith and company to build momentum heading into the final stretch of the season.

There are few receivers providing more consistent production than Tyler Lockett right now. He has scored a touchdown in five straight games and been a top-20 WR in half PPR scoring in four of those contests. Both he and DK Metcalf are coming off 100+ yard receiving performances against the Rams and will look to keep that going against a Panthers defense that ranks 22nd against opposing WRs on the season. Meanwhile, Kenneth Walker’s status is truly questionable as he tries to return from an ankle injury that limited him to just three carries last week. If he is out, Travis Homer could be the main beneficiary with DeeJay Dallas also banged up.

The Panthers will continue to roll with Sam Darnold as their starting QB, and he did actually look like their best option when we saw him in Week 12. It’s hard to get excited about much in this Carolina offense, but at least there is hope for DJ Moore after he finished as a top-10 WR with Darnold under center. We will need to monitor practice reports throughout the week but it sounds like D’Onta Foreman should be available, and he will look to put up big numbers on the Seahawks bottom-five run defense.

Maybe I’m missing something, but this line of -3.5 actually feels like decent value on the Seahawks. They are at home against a team traveling across the country and have proven that we must take their offense seriously. Normally, Seattle’s defense gives up enough to keep games close, but the Panthers rarely play in close games. Since Week 3, they have had just one game that was decided by seven points or fewer and the average margin of victory for the winner of those games was an astounding 12.9 points. All of this makes me like the Seahawks to win by a comfortable margin.