Carolina Panthers at Chicago Bears Odds

The Carolina Panthers broke through with their first win of the season in Week 3. They didn’t win a game until Week 7 last year.

The Panthers have a chance to match their win total from last season when they visit the Chicago Bears Sunday. They are currently listed as a 6.5-point underdog with the total set at 44.

After coming up short against Arizona and Green Bay, Carolina overcame a 10-5 halftime deficit to defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars 16-10.

Rookie quarterback Cam Newton completed 18 of 34 passes for 158 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. His touchdown pass to Greg Olsen with 4:20 left in the fourth quarter proved to be the game winner.

The Panthers, who had been overly reliant on Newton and the passing game the first two weeks, finally got the running game going. Led by Jonathan Stewart, they broke the century mark on the ground for the first time this season with 107 yards. Stewart was responsible for 59 of them.

While Carolina looks to build on last week’s victory, the defending NFC North champs are hoping to bounce back from back-to-back defeats.

After opening with an impressive performance against Atlanta, the Bears have lost by double-digits to New Orleans and Green Bay.

Jay Cutler completed 21 of 37 passes for 302 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions but was outshined by Aaron Rodgers, who connected on 73.7 percent of his attempts for 297 yards with three touchdowns and one pick.

The Bears’ defense, which currently ranks 26th in the league with 277.3 passing yards allowed per game, will have to tighten the screws in order to get past the Panthers, who currently rank fourth in the NFL with 321.7 passing yards per contest.

Chicago was at its best in 2010 when it committed to the running game. That’s something it hasn’t done at all the last two weeks. After 27 rushing attempts in Week 1, the Bears have only had a total of 24 runs the last two weeks. They currently rank 31st in the league with 53.7 rushing yards per game.

Chicago may be able to have more success on the ground this week against a Carolina defense that ranks 25th in the NFL with 117 rushing yards allowed per game.

The Bears ran the ball 42 times for 218 yards in last year’s 23-6 victory at Carolina.

These teams have split six all-time meetings with the Bears winning two of the three at Solider Field.

It is worth noting that Carolina is 0-7 against the spread in its last seven games as a road underdog of seven points or less. It has lost by an average of 11.6 points in these games.

It’s also worth noting that Chicago is 1-8 against the number, and 8-1 to the under, in its last nine games after allowing 375 or more total yards in consecutive games. The Bears are losing in this situation by an average of 4.5 points, and we are only seeing an average of 32.3 total points scored.

Jimmy Boyd is off to a hot 6-2-1 start with his Sunday NFL plays through the first three weeks of the season. Join him again this Sunday for more expert premium picks!