It is an NFC Championship Game rematch on Sunday night on NBC as the Carolina Panthers visit the Seattle Seahawks in a Week 13 matchup. The Seahawks are a definite contender to return to the NFC title game as they are 7-3-1 and leading the NFC West but the Panthers are virtually out of playoff contention at 4-7 and in last place in the NFC South. The Panthers are coming off a tough loss last week as they were outscored in Oakland, losing 35-32 while the Seahawks were awful last week in a 14-5 defeat to Tampa Bay.
Kickoff for this regular season Week 13 game is set for Sunday, December 4, 2016, at 8:30 p.m. ET at CenturyLink Field.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.euCarolina Panthers +7Seattle Seahawks -7Over/Under 44
Odds Analysis
The Seahawks opened up as 6.5-point home favorites and the line moved to 7 on Monday afternoon. There is a good chance that this number settles on 7 as the Panthers have been scoring a lot of points even though they haven’t been winning while the Seahawks usually get action playing at home. The Panthers have lost five of their seven games decided by three points or less after going 5-0 last season in games decided by five points or less.
The total on this contest opened at 45 and was bet down to 44.5 on Monday afternoon and bet down further to 44 later on Monday. It is hard to see this number going down further as the Panthers defense has been awful of late and Seattle’s defense has looked a bit vulnerable lately.
Injury Report
Ryan Kalil – The Panthers missed their center last week in the loss to Oakland but he might return for this game against Seattle as he is listed as questionable with a shoulder injury.
Luke Kuechly – The key player for the Panthers on defense is Kuechly and he missed last week’s game due to a concussion. There is no timetable for his return so it is all about how Kuechly progresses through the concussion protocol.
Earl Thomas – One of the top defensive players for Seattle is Thomas who is questionable for this game with a hamstring injury. The Seahawks should be getting Michael Bennett and Deshawn Shead back for this game and they also should have center Justin Britt returning.
Key Stat
The Seahawks lead the all-time series 5-3 but they lost in last year’s NFC title game 31-24 and they lost in the regular season a year ago at home 27-23.
Carolina has not done well recently ATS following a loss as they are 1-4 ATS in their last five games following a loss. The Panthers are just 1-5-1 ATS in their last 7 vs. the NFC. The Panthers are 1-7-1 ATS in their last 9 road games.
For some reason, the Seahawks have been great in Week 13 going 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games in Week 13. The problem with backing Seattle is that they are just 1-5-1 ATS in their last 7 games after scoring less than 15 points in their previous game.
Looking at the total, the Over is 4-1 in the Panthers last 5 road games. The Under is 4-0 in the Seahawks last 4 vs. the NFC. The Under is 12-2 in the Seahawks last 14 games in December but the Over is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings in this series in Seattle.
Free ATS Pick
The Panthers are giving up a lot of points of late as only once in their last six games have they given up less than 20 points and that was against the pathetic Rams offense. If Kuechly misses this game it is hard to see any situation in which the Seahawks don’t score a lot of points. The Panthers offense has been very good all season and the Seattle defense hasn’t been that scary lately so Carolina should be able to score. I will take this game over the total.
NFL Odds: Seahawks 27, Panthers 24
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