Experts are all in favor on who they believe will win between the Carolina Panthers and the Detroit Lions this week.
Just when it looked like the Carolina Panthers may have turned the corner in Week 2, the team laid an egg in Week 3 against the Cleveland Browns.
Carolina fell on the road, seeing their record drop to 1-2 on the new NFL season. Now, the Panthers schedule doesn't get any easier, with the team hosting the Detroit Lions this week on Sunday Night Football.
Detroit enters this game with a record of 2-1, and they are coming off a win over the New York Jets last week. The Lions feature some of the better offensive playmakers in the league today, and this could give the Panthers real trouble this week.
This game is going to feature one massive strength against a massive weakness, with the Lions high-powered offense taking on the Panthers defense. Carolina's defense has underperformed this season, and if they can't careful, this could be a long game for them.
Heading into the contest, NFL analysts Gary Davenport, Brad Gagnon, Kris Knox, Moe Moton, Brent Sobleski, Wes O'Donnell, and Ian Hanford of Bleacher Report all gave predictions for the game. Within this, every single person has the Lions taking the victory from Carolina on the road this week.
It's a little surprising that nobody picked the Panthers to win, especially with the game being played at home. But it goes to show the confidence level in this Carolina team heading into the matchup with the Lions.
If the Panthers want any shot at winning this game, the offense is going to have to match the power of the Lions. Quarterback Bryce Young is going to have to play near-perfect football, which he had trouble with a week ago.
Young didn't play horribly against the Browns, but he didn't do enough for the team to win the game. Overall, he threw for 291 yards with one touchdown and one interception, but this won't get the job done against the Lions.
If Young can find his spots in the game, it could help out everything, and the Lions defense isn't the strongest themselves. This could offer the veteran quarterback a chance to get the win, and he will need to put up a good performance.
Additionally, the Panthers defense is going to have to find a way to get some stops against the Lions. Or at the very least, if they can hold the high-powered attack to field goals at times, it could allow the offense of Carolina to keep them in the game.
This could be a tough matchup for the Panthers, but the team will do whatever it can to avoid going to 1-3 on the new season.
