Hi Deliveryman,
I thiunk that you naied this one, and I'm already on it. I bet it on Monday and got CAR -3.5. The Lions are a compete mess, and I don't put a lot of stock in CAR's debacle at PITT kast Thursday. Like most road teams on TNF this season, the Panthers got blown out. Newton was sacked 5 times, and Rothlisberger torched the CAR secondary. The Steelers were able to exploit the Panthers weak OL and secondary , but I doubt that the Lions can.
One problem here is that, other than Ansah, the Lions don’t put a lot of heat on opposing QBs. Ansah may get to Newton a few times, but the Panthers won't have to worry about anyone else, and they could double team Ansah.
Another problem is that while the Lions might have been able to exploit the Panthers’ secondary a few weeks ago, that's not true now. Not only has Tate been traded, but Marvin Jones is now questionable with a knee injury as well. With the Lions having a short work week and a Thanksgiving game coming up, they may opt to keep Jones out of the lineup, giving Stafford just one viable option , Golladay, to work with.
Meanwhile, the Panthers should be highly motivated following a humiliating loss on national TV. Newton won't face the kind of heat he faces last week. He should have plenty of time to pick apart a Lions D that made Mitch Trubitsky look like a quality starting NFL QB. Their secondary, outside of Darius Slay, is poor, and Slay is questionable. The DET LBs are even worse than their secondary, so McCaffrey could have a big day as a receiver out of the backfield, and if Slay is out or less than 100% , that'll open up the downfield passing game for Newton and his WRs. Additionally the Lions will have to worry about Newton taking off and running with the ball.
I love the play BOL