NFL Preseason Week 1 – Texans at Panthers
The league’s first meaningless preseason game got some excellent ratings. It’s likely to expect the same from tonight’s meaningless football game between the Texans and the Panthers. Tomorrow’s slate is a bit larger with six games on the schedule. Tonight’s contest will be broadcasted live on NFL Network.
As always, all our odds will be quoted from BetOnline (Full Review) and are accurate at the time of posting. However, be sure to line shop for the best price before placing your bet.
Houston Texans at Carolina Panthers -1 Total: 36 u-115
After jettisoning Brock Osweiler in what amounted to be a rare “salary dump” in NFL terms, the Texans drafted Deshaun Watson to be the heir apparent of Tom Savage. Savage will start tonight’s contest, and all healthy Texans are expected to play this evening, at least for a series.
Cam Newton will not suit up tonight for Carolina. He’s out with soreness. Derek Anderson will start for the Panthers.
Betting Odds
The Panthers initially opened at -3. However, the odds have moved in the Texans’ favor as we get close to kickoff. Carolina is a -1 favorite as of this writing. Most of the action has come on Houston so far. Betting on the total has been about 50/50, but the odds have come down slightly since the number opened at 36.5 points.
Prediction
It’s always tough to predict how long the starters will play, but something tells me that Bill O’Brien will take this game more seriously than Ron Rivera. We won’t see Newton and Derek Anderson will face the Texans’ defensive starters for at least one series and possibly a few.
The line movement is partly centered on Newton missing the game, but not all of it. O’Brien wants to see plenty out of Savage and Watson and may keep that combination active most of the game. Even third-stringer, Brandon Weeden, is a pretty solid number three option.
It would have been nice to grab Houston at +3, but I still think there is value at -1.
Pick: Texans +1 at BetOnline
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