NFL Betting Preview: Cincinnati Bengals at Carolina Panthers

Added on Sep 25, 2010 by Jack Thurman in

NFL

Bengals enter this Sunday game in Charlotte, NC with a 1-1 record facing the 0-2 Carolina Panthers. Cincinnati won last week at home over Baltimore after losing their opening game to New England on the road. The Panthers have played both of their 2010 games on the road, losing a rout to the NY Giants and a low scoring game at Tampa Bay. Neither team has really been able to get their offense going, which is something of a surprise for Cincinnati though was something of an expectation for Carolina.

Cincinnati Bengals at Carolina Panthers
September 26, 2010–10:00 AM Pacific

Despite adding Terrell Owens to combine with Chad Ochocinco for a pair of deep ball threat wide receivers, the Cincinnati Bengals really haven’t clicked yet on offense. Carolina has its weaknesses in the secondary, but we don’t expect that to change here at Bank of America Stadium this week. Among other things, they’ll have to contend with the elements–the forecast for Saturday is calling for thunderstorms, showers and gusty winds. This should slow down the already ‘slow’ grass field in the Panthers’ home stadium and keep the Bengals offense relatively landlocked.

The Panthers’ offense has been even worse–Matt Moore returned to the lineup from a Week 1 concussion and was ineffective again against the Tampa Bay Bucs. He’ll get the start here, but if he struggles (and chances are he will) don’t be surprised to see Notre Dame rookie Jimmy Claussen get some playing time. In any case, don’t look for much deviation from a running attack with either quarterback in the game. When Carolina plays at home, the first way to look is Under the total. Panthers have gone Under in 13 of their last 18 home games and 7 of their last 8 non-conference games. In recent years they’ve shown a ‘back to basics’ tendency when the team is trying to end a losing streak–in the last 4 spots with the Panthers having lost 2 or more consecutive games the Under is a perfect 4-0. Look for a ground oriented, possession type game with little scoring–and the weather could keep the scoring down even more.

Bet Carolina/Cincinnati Under 38