As ever the NFL week ends with the Monday Night Football and the penultimate MNF of the season sees the Washington Redskins hosting the Carolina Panthers in an all-NFC clash. The postseason is approaching and places in the playoffs are up for grabs and this is another game with implications on that.
Carolina are playing the role of party poopers but Washington are very much still in the hunt. If they can win out there is an excellent chance they will make it to the playoffs so for them this match is huge.
Washington Redskins
The Redskins ended a two game losing streak with a much needed win over Philadelphia last week and now they will be looking to build on that. In fairness to them the first of those defeats was against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving when the Skins put up a decent fight. The loss to Arizona was more disappointing and concerning but they have put that behind them.
Defensively Washington match up well here. They have a solid pass rush who will go hunting for Cam Newton and they have the secondary who can keep the main men quiet so if they can restrict the Carolina running game then this should be a match the Redskins can win. Kirk Cousins is playing some of the best football of his career right now.
Carolina Panthers
If there have been two seasons more contrasting that the ones that Carolina produced last season and this I’ve not seen it. This time last year they were beating all-comers and this year they look like being very few although they did get a win against the San Diego Chargers last week. Even then there was a sense of them falling over the line.
Carolina’s defence has fallen apart this season so they might not enjoy seeing one of their lynchpins from last season on the opposition defence. This will be the first time they will have played against Josh Norman since he left in the off-season. You would think Cam Newton will keep the ball away from him whenever possible.
Betting
I’d be surprised if Washington don’t win the game but this isn’t the time of the season where I feel comfortable taking big handicaps even against a side who have as little to play for as Carolina. We all know that sides playing free of pressure can spoil the party of those who need the win and that is the concern.
That leads me to the player markets which I don’t mind as there is one which stands out. You would think Josh Norman will spend all night covering a dangerman in Kelvin Benjamin or Ted Ginn which could well open the field up for Greg Olsen.
Washington have struggled to contain tight ends all season and Olsen is one of the best in the league in that position. He comes into this match off the back of an 87 yard game against the Chargers so his line of 65.5 looks perfectly achievable here especially with Carolina likely to be chasing the game and having to throw a lot.
Tips
WON – Back G.Olsen – Over 65.5 receiving yards for a 4/10 stake at 1.85 with Ladbrokes
Back him here:
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