Patriots at Panthers (-1.5, 44.5) (7:30 pm ET)
New England is an unpredictable team under normal circumstances. Tonight the Patriots are highly unpredictable because of the situation. The third game in preseason is usually the one in which the starters play extended time, but with QB Tom Brady’s “DeflateGate” case ongoing, who knows if and how long Bill Belichick will play Brady in this game. The Patriots release very little information, but the betting markets don’t expect Brady for long as the Panthers are now laying -1.5 points after the game opened at a Pick.
Carolina will play their starters between 35 and 40 plays which should stretch into the third quarter according to head coach Ron Rivera. Carolina and New England met in Week 3 of the preseason last season, and the Patriots routed the Panthers by a score of 30-7. But Brady played a lot in that game. If he goes in and out tonight, Carolina will likely get a comfortable win. The Patriots rallied back to beat the Saints 26-24 last week under QB Jimmy Garoppolo. New England trailed 21-7 at one point. That sets Garoppolo up for regression, but again, this game is tough to handicap with the unknown status of Tom Brady.