The Carolina Panthers (5-9) play the Detroit Lions (7-7) at Bank of America Stadium on 24th December at 13:00. Winning five out of 14 games leaves the Carolina Panthers ranked second in the NFC South, while the Detroit Lions sit second in the NFC North with seven victories going into this matchup. It looks like a match, which could go either way, as not a lot seems to be separating the Carolina Panthers from the Detroit Lions. This could go down to the wire before a winner emerges.

Form Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers were left licking their wounds when the Pittsburgh Steelers handed them a surprise 16-24 defeat in their last match. They now have a 5-9 record for the season and are 3-2 in the last five home games.

The Carolina Panthers’ offense has been abysmal all season. It has put up just 19.7 points per game and they saw no improvement in the last five matches, which produced an average of 19.4 points. The defense, on the other hand, has really stepped up against opposing offenses of late. In the past five outings, the hosts have only given up 17.2 points on average. This is better than how they’ve fared over the season, having allowed 22.4 points per game in comparison.

Unsurprisingly, the Carolina Panthers are unlikely to make the NFL postseason as things stand. Few people expected the home side to go far, and given their 5-9 regular season record, it seems they had good reason.

Form Detroit Lions

Form is strong for the Detroit Lions, who beat New York Jets by a 17-20 scoreline last time out, thereby extending their winning streak to three matches. Their overall regular season record is now 7-7 and 3-3 on the road.

The Detroit Lions’ offensive line has improved leaps and bounds since posting a mere 19.1 points per game last season, ranking sixth in the NFL with 26.4 points this year. On the other side of the ball, the defense has also improved of late. The visitors have given up 20.0 points in the previous five outings, which is much better than the 26.0 points they’ve allowed on average over the course of the regular season.

2021 was a year to forget for the Detroit Lions. The visitors failed to reach the playoffs, having finished fourth in the NFC North at 3-13, and are expected to miss the NFL postseason again, having gone 7-7 so far in the current campaign.

H2H

The Carolina Panthers came away with a 20-0 win in their previous encounter with the Detroit Lions at the Bank of America Stadium on November 2020. Taking on the Detroit Lions at the Bank of America Stadium is a game the Carolina Panthers clearly relish. The hosts are 5-2 in the past seven meetings between the sides, winning each of the past three encounters in front of their boisterous crowd.

In their last seven head-to-head games, the Carolina Panthers managed 25.29 points on average per game, while the Detroit Lions put 20.29 points on board.

Standings

Betting

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Moneyline

Pick the Detroit Lions to win (1.65) for your moneyline bet as they should be a lock on at these odds.

Despite the home-field advantage, the Carolina Panthers aren’t favored on the moneyline. They are 4-4 SU at the Bank of America Stadium in this regular season and 5-9 SU overall. The Detroit Lions, on the other hand, have collected five wins in ten games with NFC South teams, and at odds of -155, are deemed to have a 61% chance of victory at the Bank of America Stadium.

The Detroit Lions are favored at -155 moneyline odds while the Carolina Panthers are +135 underdogs on the moneyline in this matchup. Detroit Lions are as high as -3.0 on the point spread at -110 odds.

Spread

Betting on the Detroit Lions -3.0 (1.91) is our favorite play for this matchup.

The Detroit Lions open up as the 3-point favorites over the Carolina Panthers, according to the oddsmakers. This suggests a road win is possible, but it won’t be by much. With the average margin of victory in the last five matchups of this series being 7.0 points, it seems as though the smart money lies in a one-score game on Saturday.

The Carolina Panthers went 6-4 ATS in their last ten games against NFC North teams. The offense put up 20.1 points per game in that span, while the defense allowed an average of 20.9 points. The hosts are also 5-4 ATS in the past nine games at home and 6-4 ATS overall from their previous ten games.

Even away from home, the Detroit Lions look too good to pass up on the spread. Backing the visitors has paid off in each of their last seven games, and we’re tempted to go down this route. In their past 10 matches, the Detroit Lions went 7-3 ATS and also ended up 5-3 ATS from their eight most recent road trips.

Total

Total over 44.0 (1.91) is the right play for this match.

There was an average of 45.58 points scored in the previous seven clashes between the Carolina Panthers and the Detroit Lions.

The current total on the Week 16 betting line for this matchup is 44.0 points, which is under the 45 points average seen in the past five rounds the Carolina Panthers and Detroit Lions have played out, but not by much either.

When betting on the total in Carolina Panthers games, consider that each of their last two matches went over. Moreover, the Carolina Panthers have seen the total go over in each of their last ten matchups.

On average, the Detroit Lions have seen 45.2 points go on board during their past ten matches and 41.2 points in their last five contests on the road. Interestedly, the total has gone under in five of the Detroit Lions’ past ten matchups against teams from the NFC South.