The Carolina Panthers (+5) are heading north to battle the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. The Thursday Night Football matchup kicks off at 8:20 p.m. ET and fans can view the action live on FOX.
Thursday Night FootballBetting Preview: Carolina Panthers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Carolina is a live dog and is currently getting 5 points in this matchup. If they want to play the moneyline, gamblers would currently need to spend $200 in order to win $100 back on the Steelers (-200). The Panthers are getting +170 moneyline odds. Some decent live betting opportunities might present themselves during the game, and Vegas has placed the over/under (O/U) at 50 points.
Each of these teams has been profitable this year as the Panthers have gained 4.8 units while the Steelers are up 1.9 units.
The Panthers are 6-2 straight up (SU) in 2018 while the Steelers are 5-2-1 SU.
The Panthers are coming off a resounding 42-28 victory over Tampa Bay last week. Cam Newton completed 19-of-25 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns. Christian McCaffrey (79 rushing yards on 17 attempts, two TDs) and the signal-caller Newton (33 yards on 11 carries) mounted the running attack in the win. Greg Olsen (six receptions, 76 yards, one TD) and McCaffrey (five catches, 78 yards) shared the receiving duties.
Pittsburgh is coming off of a 23-16 win over Baltimore in Week 9. The team’s defense held its ground in the victory, restricting the Ravens to only 218 passing yards and 61 rushing yards. Willie Snead IV had a good showing in the loss for Baltimore, recording 58 yards on seven catches. For Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger completed 28-of-47 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns. James Conner (107 yards on 24 rush attempts) led the ground game in the win while JuJu Smith-Schuster (seven receptions, 78 yards) led the pass-catching attack.
Carolina’s run the ball on 45.7 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Pittsburgh has a rush percentage of 35.4 percent. The Panthers have produced 143.9 rush yards per game and have 11 touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Steelers are logging 101.6 rushing yards per game and have 11 total rush TDs.
The Panthers offense has tallied 238.3 yards/contest through the air overall and has 15 passing TDs so far. The Steelers have produced 322.8 pass yards per game and have 16 total pass scores.
Defensively, Carolina has allowed 94.1 rush yards and 266.4 pass yards per game. The Pittsburgh defense has given up 278.6 yards per game to opposing passers and 90.3 yards per game to opposing runners. Both teams allow similar adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) to the opposition, as the Panthers have given up an ANY/A of 5.80 to opposing QBs, while the Steelers are yielding an ANY/A of 6.27.
Offensively, Newton is up to 1,674 passing yards this season. He’s completed 67 percent of his 234 attempts with 13 passing scores and only four interceptions. Newton’s got a 6.79 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number sits at 9.41 over the past two games.
On the other sideline, Ben Roethlisberger has connected on 198-of-308 passes for 2,303 yards, 14 TDs and six INTs. Roethlisberger’s ANY/A sits at 7.06 for the year and 6.45 over his last two games.
