The Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots will open Week 1 of the NFL preseason on Thursday. Both teams are expected to finish near the bottom of their respective divisions.
Last season, the Carolina Panthers had the league’s worst record, winning only 2 games and ending at the bottom of the NFC South standings.
Similarly, the New England Patriots had a challenging season, finishing last in the AFC East with a 4-13 record. They lost their final two games and ended three games behind the Jets in the standings.
The New England Patriots are -3.5 over the Carolina Panthers in this game on Thursday in the National Football League.
Road Panthers Looking to Improve on Miserable Season
Carolina is aiming for an improved second season from quarterback Bryce Young. Last season, Young played in 16 games but completed just under 60% of his passes. The Panthers drafted Xavier Legette, a wide receiver out of South Carolina that they hope can help get the offense going.
Another draft pick that could be useful for Carolina this season is running back Jonathan Brooks out of Texas. The former Longhorns star will get a chance to compete with Chuba Hubbard for the spot, while Miles Sanders remains with the team as well.
Diontate Johnson is now with the Panthers. He joins Adam Thielen and Jonathan Mingo as the top receiving options in Carolina. Tommy Tremble is in line to be the starting tight end for the Panthers.
The Panthers host the Jets and play at the Bills to finish their preseason. Carolina will start at the New Orleans Saints on September 8th.
Patriots Looking to get on Track
For New England, rookie quarterback Drake Maye is expected to compete for a chance start this season after being drafted out of North Carolina. Maye will benefit from the addition of former Commanders running back Antonio Gibson in the backfield. The other option is Jacoby Brissett.
Rhamondre Stevenson will be the top running back for the Patriots this season. Backing him up will be former Washington Commanders back Antonio Gibson. In the receiving core for the patriots, Kendrick Bourne, DeMario Douglas and Ja’Lynn Polk. Hunter Henry is back as the top’s top tight end choice.
New England opens their 2024 season on September 8th in Cincinnati. Before that, the Patriots will host Philadelphia on August 15th and play on the road at Washington on August 25th.
Panthers Top Patriots
We expect a pretty fun National Football League game here. Both teams are going to be ready to start the preseason strong, and carry that into the regular season. While the Patriots are slight favorites for this game, we anticipate a close game. Our pick is the Carolina Panthers +3.5 over the New England Patriots in Thursday’s preseason opener. We hope you enjoy this game, and want to wish you good luck with all your NFL betting!
