Week six of the NFL campaign begins with probably the pick of the matches in the schedule when two 4-1 sides meet in the Thursday Night Football. The NFC South leaders Carolina Panthers host the NFC East table toppers Philadelphia Eagles in what should be an appealing match on the eye.
Given how both sides have started this could have big implications later in the season with both already in with a genuine shot of the number one seed in the Conference. A win here would strengthen those claims.
Carolina Panthers
After a good start to the season, the Panthers came unstuck in New Orleans in week three but this is a side back on the upgrade again and as such they have won their last two matches to go 4-1 for the season. In New England and Detroit they have beaten some very dangerous opponents. That should give them a lot of confidence.
The ironic thing is for a side who have based a lot of their success in previous seasons on a wonderful running game they have been unable to get anything going on the ground but through the air they are as good as ever despite the loss of Greg Olsen. If they can just tighten up defensively this could be a big campaign for the Panthers.
Philadelphia Eagles
Had they not run into the Kansas City Chiefs in week two of the season, the Eagles could well be 5-0 now. As it was they gave the Chiefs arguably their toughest outing of the campaign so far and should have taken a lot from that even in defeat. They followed that up with a couple of battling wins before dominating Arizona Cardinals last week.
One of the reasons for the success of the Philadelphia side this season, aside from the increasingly good play from quarterback Carson Wentz, has been their ability to stop the run. They rank second in run defence and forcing opposing quarterbacks to take risks in the air is proving a successful policy. If their defence stands up after a short week they’ll be tough to beat.
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Betting
This should be a cracking match to watch between two confident sides who are putting up plenty of points right now. With the match having bigger implications down the line I would imagine it would be very competitive so I will leave the match outcome alone and head to my seemingly regular Thursday night player performance bet.
I’m not sure bookmakers have taken notice of the way the Carolina offense is functioning right now. Cam Newton is having to get it done through the air and with Christian McCaffrey catching 18 passes in the last three weeks it is clear that strategy is no fluke. Newton has the likes of Kelvin Benjamin and Devin Funchess to find too so I expect his passing yards to stack up.
Philadelphia are excellent against the run but earlier in the campaign Eli Manning shredded them for 366 yards while the following week Philip Rivers feasted on them for 347. Carson Palmer took 291 yards against them last week despite hardly seeing the ball. The numbers all add up to suggest that Newton will go beyond 243.5 passing yards.
Tips
Back C.Newton – Over 243.5 passing yards for a 4/10 stake at 1.85 with BetVictor
Back him here:
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