The Carolina Panthers will continue giving all three of their drafted cornerbacks playing time Friday night in Week 3 against the Patriots in their first home game of the preseason with the defense looking to find Josh Norman’s replacement immediately. Jimmy Garoppolo hits the road for the first time looking to build upon a pair of decent efforts in front of the Foxboro faithful.
The Pats and Panthers will kick off their Week 3 dress rehearsal on Friday, August 26, 2016, at 7:30 p.m. ET from Bank of America Stadium.
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Odds Analysis
With the “Hoodie” having recent success in the third week of the preseason and Carolina laying less than home field advantage in these teams Week 3 preseason meeting last season, look for a similar pointspread and total of last year’s game to hit the board once they open.
Quarterback Rotation
Garoppolo has gotten the most first team reps of any quarterback in the league through the first two weeks of the preseason. With him set to remain under center the first four games of the regular season, it’s likely head coach Bill Belichick elects to give him his deepest run with the starting unit this week.
Look for the Pats field general to go through the third and possibly into the fourth quarter before handing the game over to backup Jacoby Brissett who mopped up the previous two games.
The Panthers have received some excellent efficiency from its three-headed quarterback monster in the preseason with Cam Newton 13 of 18 for 198 yards and a touchdown, Derek Anderson 19 of 34 for 211 yards and two touchdowns, and Joe Webb 14 of 21 for 149 yards and one touchdown. Not a single interception has been thrown.
Newton will likely go into the third quarter of this one with either Anderson or Webb closing the game out. Regardless, look for the Panthers offense to continue excelling with each field general currently on top of their respective game.
Coaching History
Throughout his esteemed head coaching career at the NFL level, Bill Belichick checks in 38-30 SU in the preseason. That said, he only has one winning campaign in his last six with the Pats going 3-1 back in 2013. He’s an even 8-8 SU in Week 3 of the exhibition season, and New England has gone 2-3 SU and ATS in Week 3 the last five seasons but did pull out a 17-16 outright win as 1.5 point road underdogs to the Panthers last season.
Ron Rivera has only posted two winning preseason records as head coach of the Panthers over the course of his five previous seasons in Carolina. Since going 1-3 in his first year at the helm, the defending NFC champs have gone 2-2, 3-1, 2-2, and 3-1. He owns a sub .500 record in Week 3 of the exhibition season (2-3 SU), and the Panthers check in 6-4 SU and 5-5 ATS at home in the preseason under his watch.
Quick Pick
New England might have won on the scoreboard against the Bears last week, but the first team certainly didn’t look that great. Chicago’s roster hardly has the depth of Carolina’s, and it was still able to outplay New England’s depth in outscoring them 11-6 in the second half.
Carolina has gotten some exceptional play from its backup quarterbacks, and lets face it, Garoppolo is a back-up in every sense of the word only getting max play due to Tom Brady being suspended for the first four regular season games. Ron Rivera should have something dialed up for this one in hopes of avenging last year’s preseason loss, but more importantly, getting his squad confident for when the games really count.
The Patriots have dropped 12 of their last 15 games played on grass, while Carolina has covered its home games at a 19-7-1 clip over its last 27. Look for the Panthers to come out pumped for their home debut and take it to the visitors.
NFL Odds: Panthers 31, Patriots 16
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