Green Bay Packers at Carolina Panthers Line

The best team from last season will take on the worst when the Green Bay Packers meet the Carolina Panthers Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.

The reigning Super Bowl champs flexed their muscles in the NFL’s season opener. They jumped out to a 14-0 lead and held on for a 42-34 home win over the New Orleans Saints.

Green Bay’s defense, which ranked fifth in the NFL last season with 309.1 yards allowed per game, showed some rust as it was torched for 477 yards, but the offense looked like a well-oiled machine.

Led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the Packers racked up 399 yards of offense and didn’t commit a single turnover. Rodgers completed 77.1 percent of his passes for 312 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. His numbers added up to a jaw-dropping 132.1 passer rating.

The Panthers came up short against Arizona, falling 28-21, but they have reason to be encouraged by the performance.

Led by No. 1 overall draft pick Cam Newton, the worst offensive team in the league last year gained 477 yards. Newton, who completed 64.9 percent of his throws for 422 yards with two touchdowns and one interception had a record day. He now holds the record for most passing yards by a rookie in his NFL debut and tied Matthew Stafford’s mark for most yards by a rookie in any game.

While Carolina appears to have come a long way offensively in a short amount of time, odds makers still feel the Panthers have a ways to go before they can hang with Green Bay. The Panthers are currently listed as a 10-point underdog with the total set at 46.5.

The Carolina pass defense ranked a respectable 11th in 2010 with 212.1 yards allowed per game, but it was torched for 309 yards and two scores by Kevin Kolb Sunday. Things don’t figure to go any easier with Rodgers coming to town.

The Green Bay pass defense was one of the best in the league a season ago.  It ranked fifth with 194.2 yards yards allowed per game.  It will have to perform better than it did in Week 1 when it allowed Drew Brees to complete 65.3 percent of his attempts for 419 yards with three touchdowns and no picks.

Green Bay, which ranked second in the league with 47 sacks in 2010, did sack Brees three times. The Packers will have to bring the heat to keep the elusive Newton from another big day.

These teams have split the last four meetings in the series with Carolina winning the most recent meeting 35-31 at Green Bay on Nov. 30, 2008.

Laying double digits on the road isn’t a good habit, but the Packers may be worth it considering the road team is 5-1 against the spread in the last six meetings. It’s also worth noting that Green Bay is 4-1-1 against the number in its last six games at Carolina.

In regards to the total, the over deserves consideration. These two have combined to finish over the total in seven of the last 11 matchups with one push.

Jimmy Boyd went 3-0 with his premium NFL plays last Sunday. Be sure to check in with him again this week for another full slate of premium picks.