Favored Panthers Host Steelers in Sunday Night Football Matchup

Carolina Opened as a 3-Point Home Favorite Against Pittsburgh.

The Carolina Panthers have looked better than expected so far this season and will put their unbeaten record on the line against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football. Carolina opened as a 3-point favorite against Pittsburgh at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook with a total of 41.5, and those numbers have moved up slightly over the last week (click here to check latest NFL odds).

Many thought the Panthers would be down this year after winning the NFC South last season and losing some key players in the offseason, but they have been impressive in going 2-0 straight-up and against the spread following a 24-7 win over the Detroit Lions in their home opener last week. Carolina starting quarterback Cam Newton returned to action last week after sitting out the season opener with a rib injury and looked pretty good, throwing for 281 yards with one touchdown against the Lions.

The Steelers have had some extra time off to recover from a 26-6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football in Week 2, and they have won four of the last five meetings against the Panthers, going 5-0 against the spread against during that stretch. However, the teams have not played since 2010 when Pittsburgh won 27-3 on the way to appearing in the Super Bowl. Newton was drafted the following year.

Carolina has gone 7-0-1 ATS in its last eight games as a home favorite and will likely be focused on stopping the running game of the Steelers since their passing game has been up and down in the first two games. Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger threw for 217 yards with no touchdowns and one interception in the loss to the Ravens after totaling 365 through the air with one TD and one pick in a 30-27 win over the Cleveland Browns in the season opener.

Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell could very well be the difference in this game. Bell rushed for 59 yards on 11 carries as his team fell behind at Baltimore, but he totaled 109 on 21 attempts with a TD and 38-yard run against the Browns. The Panthers have limited their first two opponents to an average of 86 rushing yards per game without surrendering a TD on the ground. Last year, Carolina ranked second in the NFL in run defense, allowing 86.9 yards per game and only four rushing TDs.

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