NFL Football: Carolina Panthers VS Seattle Seahawks Prediction, Odds and Preview - 12/11/2022

 

Game Time: 4:25 PM ET,  Sunday, December 11th, 2022

Venue:  Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington

Where to Watch: FOX

FanDuel:  Seahawks -3.5, O/U 44.5

BetMGM:  Seahawks -3.5, O/U 44.5

PointsBet:  Seahawks -3.5, O/U 44.5

Panthers: 4-8, 3rd place NFC South

Seahawks: 7-5, 2nd place NFC West

An NFC battle between the irrelevant and a team that needs a win to keep their heads above water.  The Carolina Panthers have had their fair share of quarterback problems this season. It was thought QB Baker Mayfield could resurrect his career by going to Carolina… instead he resurrected it by leaving Carolina and immediately winning his first game in Los Angeles… so the team that started with QB Sam Darnold… then shunned him for Baker Mayfield… then shunned Baker for scrappy kiddo PJ Walker… is now back to Sam Darnold.  BTW… if the quarterback position is about “fit”?... then absolutely none of them had a shot at being successful in Carolina… The Panthers are a team with a soft defense, a middling offensive line and few solid weapons to choose from.  No one could possibly “fit” here. Interim Head Coach Steve Wilks has a tough uphill battle to squeeze out wins before the season comes to a close… though the team may not want any wins as they would shatter draft position and accomplish not much else.  The Panthers are a bad team that has only won 4 of their 12 games.  The Seattle Seahawks started the season very tough. They used QB Geno Smith and his physical tools to maximize a roster full of nobodies to a first place in the NFC West start… then reality set in and a defense full of rookies started to falter… They have dropped to 2nd in the NFC West and NEED wins to stay in the postseason hunt in the NFC. At 7-5 the Seahawks have outperformed, but since they own the Denver Broncos #1 pick plus a slew of others… they have nothing to lose by going for broke.  A good offense a “soft” defense will get a break by hosting the Panthers… but will they be a great betting opportunity and get the win ATS?

The Carolina Panthers won their last game against the pitiful Denver Broncos 23-10… It was a big win ATS.  It also caused a lot of nervousness among gamblers because of the disparity of quarterback talent… It seems some people still think the Broncos QB Russell Wilson could suddenly turn it all around… Not this season folks.  In the win the Panthers QB Sam Darnold completed 11 of 19 passes for 164 yards and 1 TD in a run heavy attack.  The other offensive TD came from a Sam Darnold run.  Sam is not a terrible QB… but he is not exceptional.  This kid is big with a big arm and he starred at USC of all places… I guarantee you he can play quarterback… He just has been on several tough rosters in his time in the NFL.  Give Sam a line, give Sam some weapons… and you will see better results.  He may never get that chance after this offseason when he is almost certainly destined to be cut loose.

The Seattle Seahawks have won 6 of their last 10 games.  They won their last game against the Los Angeles Rams 27-23… That was way too close while playing a team that is so injury riddled among the top talent.  Yet that is the Seahawks fate this season… while they are enjoying 3169 passing yards from QB Geno Smith to go with 9 TDs from RB Kenneth Walker III… they simply can not leave anything in the hands of the defense.  To highlight that all you have to do is look at the game before where they got an overtime loss and dropped 40 points to the Las Vegas Raiders. In the win over the Rams, QB Geno Smith completed 28 of 39 passes for 367 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT.  The TDs were spread around with 1 each going to WR Lockett, WR Metcalf, and TE Fant.. those are weapons. Geno may get to keep this team for a few seasons… it will be very interesting to see how good they could get with a few productive drafts providing a defensive makeover.

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CAR: 4-8, 6-6 ATS, 4-8 O/U, 0-5 on the road.

SEA: 7-5, 6-6 ATS, 7-5 O/U, 3-2 in home games.

The Panthers are 25th in scoring with 19.2 points per game, 30th in total yards with 291.3 per game, 29th in passing yards with 174.6 per game, and 17th in rushing yards with 116.8 per game.

The Seahawks are 5th in scoring with 26.5 points per game, 11th in total yards with 360.9 per game, 7th in passing yards with 244.4 per game, and 19th in rushing yards with 116.5 per game.

The Panthers defense is 19th at defending total yards with 348.2 per game allowed, 14th in defense of passing yards with 212.5 per game allowed, 25th in rushing yards with 135.7 per game allowed, and 14th in defense of points with 22.2 per game allowed.

The Seahawks defense is 30th in defense of total yards with 382.9 allowed per game, 20th in defense of passing with 227.7 allowed per game, 31st in defense of rushing yards with 155.3 allowed per game, and 28th in defense of points with 25.3 allowed per game.

Our prediction for Sunday, December 11th is…. Seahawks 30 - Panthers 20

 

Bet on the Seahawks. They have not been reliable with 3 losses ATS in a row and 2 of those losses coming against terrible teams.. But two of those teams had really solid quarterback play and the third had a too big spread for the Seahawks to cover.  This game falls right into the Seahawks wheelhouse as they face a Panthers team that has a serious void in both leadership and confidence.

 

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6 of 6 Games in this series (at Seattle) have gone OVER since 1992.

The Panthers are 7-3 ATS as a road underdog of 7 points or less the last 3 seasons.

The Seahawks are 7-3 ATS in home games with a total of 42.5 to 49 the last 3 seasons.

Panthers: QB Sam Darnold, RB D’Onta Foreman, FB Cade Mays, WR DJ Moore, WR Terrace Marshall JR, TE Ian Thomas, LT Ikem Ekwonu, LG Brady Christiensen, C Bradley Bozeman, RG Austin Corbett, RT Taylor Moton

Seahawks: QB Geno Smith, RB Kenneth Walker III, WR DK Metcalf, WR Tyler Lockett, TE Noah Fant, TE Will Dissly, LT Charles Cross, LG Damien Lewis, C Austin Blythe, RG Gabe Jackson, RT Abraham Lucas

Mostly Cloudy, 43*, Humidity 88%, Wind 5 mph