Heading into Week 12 of the 2015 NFL season, there was only one time in the Super Bowl era that a team was 10-0 and was an underdog in a game. Now, we're seeing it happen for the second time. The Carolina Panthers have won 14 regular season games in a row, but they've opened as underdogs and could reasonably close that way as well against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Carolina Panthers +1
Dallas Cowboys -1
Over/Under 47
ODDS ANALYSIS
With a spread of just Dallas -1, there's a good chance this line flips the other direction by the time toe meets leather in the second of three Thanksgiving Day NFL games. We've already seen the Panthers lined as both short underdogs and short favorites in this one, and for all intents and purposes, there's little difference for bettors.
The one common thread though, is that the total is dropping, something that live bettors should definitely keep in the back of their mind as they're watching this game. The total opened at 47 and has continually dipped just a bit to 45.5 as of Monday evening.
WHEN THE CAROLINA PANTHERS HAVE THE BALL
Would you believe that there is just one offense in the NFL to have scored at least 27 points in eight straight games this year and just two to score at least 20 in all 10 games? And would you believe that Carolina is the offense we're describing?
The Panthers aren't a statistical work of art like New England. Cam Newton is barely completing 55 percent of his passes, and he's responsible for the No. 28 ranked passing game in the league. In fact, the Panthers are truly only good for 354.2 yards per game, sticking them right in the middle of the NFL. However, they're incredibly efficient in the red zone, and as a result, they're averaging a stunning 29.9 points per game, third best in the league.
Carolina is fifth best in the league when it comes to scoring touchdowns in the red zone, doing so 63.4 percent of the time. The team has turned the ball over just once inside the opposing 20 all season long, and two of the drives that have failed this far down the field were game-ending drives when it was just trying to put the game away.
WHEN THE DALLAS COWBOYS HAVE THE BALL
The Cowboys are the trickiest team in the league for live bettors right now in our opinion. Tony Romo is 3-0 as a starting quarterback this year, whereas the rest of this team is 0-7. He had some moments where he looked really sharp last week in Miami, but he also had moments where he made far too many boneheaded throws. He got away with the mistakes against the Dolphins because they aren't very good, but no team capitalizes off of turnovers like Carolina.
The Panthers are going to come after Romo for sure in this one. His offensive line has been a rock all year no matter who has been back there with him, but with Dez Bryant locked up with Josh Norman in this one for the full 60 minutes, some other receiver is going to have to make plays. Terrance Williams did last week, but for the most part, he has been MIA all year.
If Romo can get that cannon of his locked and loaded, the Cowboys can score some points, even against this awesome Carolina defense. But don't let No. 8 jade you too much in live betting. He's going to make mistakes, and the last thing you want to see on NFL Turkey Day is a poorly timed interception to kill your live bet.
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