Will the Lions continue their success story?
There are now 14 game days behind both teams and hardly anyone would have expected before the season that both would still be in the playoff race at this point. However, the reasons are extremely different. The Panthers have the luck of the extremely weak division, and so they are still given a 20 percent chance of winning the division and making the postseason.
The Detroit Lions have two more wins than the Panthers and are definitely one of the surprises of this season. Remarkable: Dan Campbell’s team celebrated six of these seven victories in the last seven games. During this period, they have steadily increased their chances of making the play-offs, which now stand at 35 per cent.
The visitors, who are riding a wave of success, are also justified favourites in the duel Carolina Panthers vs. Detroit Lions. A bet on the franchise from the “Motor City” will bring odds of up to 1.70 in the best case.
Carolina Panthers – Statistics & current form
Chance missed! With a win against the Pittsburgh Steelers last game day, the franchise from Charlotte would have had the same record as the division leader from Tampa Bay, as the latter lost out to the Cincinnati Bengals. However, the Panthers lost to the Steelers and remain one win behind the Buccaneers in the weakest NFC division – the NFC South. On Matchday 17, the two teams will meet again in a direct duel, and there the final decision could be made as to who will ultimately be allowed to represent the NFC South in the “Wildcard Round” of the postseason.
But in order to have any chance of knocking Tampa Bay off the top spot on Matchday 17, interim head coach Steve Wilks’ team must win on Christmas. Attractive odds are available for a win for the home side at Bank of America Stadium in the clash between the Panthers and Lions.
Lack of consistency
For Carolina, the season has been a rollercoaster ride of emotions. The longest “winning streak” lasted two games, the longest “losing streak” was stopped again after three defeats. The swap at the quarterback position was similarly changeable, because with Sam Darnold, PJ Walker and Baker Mayfield, three different playmakers started this season. Since matchday 12, Darnold has been allowed to try his luck again, while Mayfield has meanwhile been released and signed with the LA Rams.
Since the Panthers traded Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers, D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard share the available running attempts. The running game has looked much more functional of late. Consequently, our prediction between the Panthers and Lions is also that the two running backs will attack the susceptible rushing defence of the visitors. However, the home side will probably also find better matchups in the passing game than last time.
Defensively, the home side is in a good position, allowing an average of only 22.4 points. They conceded 24 points in each of their last two games. That’s why it’s quite realistic to bet on the Panthers vs. the Lions that the visitors will be able to reach these heights.
Key Players:
QB: Sam Darnold
RB: Chuba Hubbard
WR: DJ Moore
TE: Tommy Tremble
K: Eddy Pineiro
Detroit Lions – stats & current form
The Lions are just fun! Anyone who would have written that sentence before the season would probably have faced some criticism. But it is true this season, because the games involving Detroit are always entertaining. A look at the statistics also proves that. Because on average, the Lions score 26.4 points and concede 26 points.
Like clockwork
The most important personnel on offense is playmaker Jared Goff. The former LA Rams quarterback, who went to the Super Bowl with Los Angeles in 2019, implements the offensive concept perfectly. This consists of a variable and versatile running game, which works primarily through Jamal Williams and D’Andre Swift.
In addition, there is good coaching and sometimes courageous decisions in game management. The fact that Goff then also has a multitude of playmaking stations makes life even easier for him. In the last three games, at least eight different players caught at least one pass from him. That’s what makes the offense so extremely dangerous and unpredictable.
Detroit has also shown at least a slight positive trend on the defensive side of the ball. If you divide the game into two halves, they conceded an average of 32.1 points in the first half and only 19.9 in the second. The Jets, Jaguars, Giants and Packers all failed to score 20 points against the Lions recently, so it is by no means out of the question that Carolina will not reach that mark either. There are some great betting odds between the Panthers and Lions.
Key Players:
QB: Jared Goff
RB: Jamaal Williams
WR: Amon-Ra St. Brown
TE: Brock Wright
K: Michel Badgley
Carolina Panthers – Detroit Lions Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
This Christmas Eve clash is the first eleventh meeting between the two franchises. The Lions’ last away win at the Panthers dates back to 24.10.1999, with the hosts winning each of the following five home games in Charlotte. In these games, the now set over/under limit of 44.5 points was reached only once.
The two quarterbacks Sam Darnold and Jared Goff will face each other for the first time ever in this game. Darnold’s memories of his only encounter with the Lions so far are quite positive, as he beat them soundly in the Jets’ kit. On the opposite side, it’s a similar scenario: Goff was victorious against the Carolina Panthers in 2019, still in a Rams jersey.
Carolina Panthers – Detroit Lions Tip
We see Detroit even more clearly ahead than the bookies do – measured by the handicap. That’s why we dare to predict between the Panthers and Lions that the visitors will win their fourth in a row and thus take another important step in the fight for the playoffs in the NFC Conference. Detroit managed to win by at least three points in recent weeks against the Jaguars, Vikings and Giants, among others, who are rated stronger than Carolina.
Despite the Lions’ offensive strength, however, we don’t expect them to reach the point limit already mentioned above. Mainly because the home side has a very solid defence and also due to the fact that the defence of the franchise from the “Motor City” has improved overall recently.
In this context, the bet that neither of the two teams will score 30 points is also attractive.
