The Carolina Panthers have been disrespected all season long, but at some point, they're going to have to be considered serious Super Bowl contenders. They're on the longest regular season winning streak dating back to last year we've seen in the NFL since the perfect Patriots eight years ago, and they have a huge war on their hands on Thanksgiving Day against the Dallas Cowboys.
Cam Newton isn't looked upon as a huge offensive threat, but his numbers are sneaky this year and much better than you might think, which is why he's a great bet against even the red hot Darren McFadden for fantasy football matchup purposes at BookMaker.
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The value on Newton here might've disappeared just a bit after he threw five touchdown passes against the Redskins. Leading into that game, he only had 15 touchdowns against nine picks, and he was leading an offense which ranked No. 29 in the NFL in passing.
That said, it's still tough to take Newton seriously as a viable threat. He has just one 300+ yard passing game this year, and with all of the speed in the Dallas linebacking corps, it would be easy to see a scenario where he only rushes for 20 or 30 yards as well, something which would seemingly kill any chance of huge fantasy success.
Go back and look at the raw numbers, though. Yes, that five-score game is jading things just a tad, but Newton is averaging 27.0 fantasy points per game this year, a far cry from the 18.4 he averaged a year ago.
You can look at the outlier and suggest that Newton won't throw five touchdowns again in this one for sure, and that's completely fair game. However, 21 TDs in nine games prior to last week shouldn't be overlooked either. Only five of Carolina's 31 offensive touchdowns haven't come either off of the arm or the legs of Newton, and for a team which has scored at least 27 points in eight games in a row, it's tough to see a circumstance in which Newton doesn't have at least two total touchdowns in this one.
That's why it's tough to trust McFadden. We hate playing running backs for fantasy purposes in generally, knowing that their next carry could be their last of the season. We saw four starting running backs leave games hurt in the 1:00 p.m. games last Sunday by 1:30, and two of the four didn't return. McFadden might be running hard with three games with at least 117 yards since Week 7, but his injury history leaves him perhaps more prone than any other back in the league, especially just four days after running the ball 29 times against Miami.
It's those raw carries though, that make him plausible in this fantasy matchup. Barring injury of course, it's tough to see how Run DMC doesn't get the ball in his hands at least 20 times. That in and of itself is good for five points by BookMaker's scoring system, and though McFadden hasn't scored a touchdown in a month, he's certainly the best goal line option the Cowboys have as well.
Still, there's a ceiling here, and we think that ceiling is right around 20 fantasy points. Last week against Miami, for as great of a game as McFadden had, he only amassed 17.7 fantasy points. Sure, maybe a touchdown could've boosted those numbers just a bit, but even 25 points probably isn't enough to beat Newton.
If you can get Carolina's quarterback at anything better than -6 against McFadden, you've got to jump at the possibility.
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Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The matchup between the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys will take place Thursday, November 26, 2015, at 4:30 p.m. ET at AT&T Stadium. The game will be televised on CBS.
