The Carolina Panthers will open a new season on the road as they meet the Denver Broncos in an NFL pro football game scheduled for Thursday.
Start Time: 8:30PM ET
Location: Denver
TV: NBC
NFL Point Spread Odds: Carolina -3
Money Line: Panthers -185 odds and Broncos +165 odds
Over Under Total: 41 ½ points
Notes: These teams met in the Super Bowl back in early February with the Broncos posting the 24-10 victory as a +4 ½ point underdog behind a fierce pass rush that forced several Panthers mistakes. Cam Newton had a poor game in defeat.
Carolina concluded the regular season with a record of 15-1. The lone loss came late in the season at Atlanta. The Panthers were the top scoring team in the league as they pushed across 31.2 points per game. Cam Newton is a dual threat and he did his running to move the chains on third down conversions. They averaged 142 yards on the ground per game. Carolina was without their top receiver a season ago as Kelvin Benjamin was lost for the entire 2015 season with a season ending injury in training camp. Newton’s key target is tight end Greg Olsen who has a knack of getting open down the field. The defending NFC Champions lost a key component from their second in Josh Norman. Carolina is very young at the cornerback position.
Defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos had home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs a season ago as division champions. The team saw some turnover as starting quarterback Eli Manning has opted to retire from the NFL. There was a three player battle for the starting quarterback position and it was second year man Trevor Siemian winning the job. He has not thrown a pass in the regular season. Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson remain in the Broncos backfield with Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas in the wide receiver position. An interesting acquisition in the backfield for Denver is rookie Devontae Booker who was an all-purpose productive running back in his years with the Utah Utes. The Denver defense was tops in the league in 2015 by surrendering 282.1 yards per game with 52 quarterback sacks.
