NFL Week 3 Thursday Night Football 20th September 2012

New York Giants at Carolina Panthers +1 OvUn 51 8:20 EST September 20th

The Giants and Panthers meet on Thursday Night in an NFC showdown that should produce a quality show for fans and bettors.

The Giants have not looked like themselves this year, failing to cover both games versus the spread and giving up a lot of yards defensively. Though, they rallied to beat the Buccaneers last weekend, the Giants can’t be happy about how they’ve played so far. Giving up 25+ points in their first two starts, clearly their defensive injuries are hurting their normally effective defense.
The Panthers look to build on their recent performance, a 35-27 win at home against New Orleans – clearly a gargantuan win for the franchise. Cam Newton has looked just unstoppable; the sophomore QB leads the team in rushing, has also thrown for over 550 yards and completed nearly 70% of his passes over the first two games.

The Line

The betting line opened at +2.5 for Carolina and has since moved to +1. The total has moved slightly off 52 and is 51.5 or 51 at most shops. It is crazy to see the Superbowl Champion Giants just a small favorite over Carolina, even with the Panthers at home. It’s a testament to how badly the Giants have looked to start the season, even though they are just 1-1.

The Play

Both teams have struggled defensively to start the season, and the Giants have a severe lack of a running game. This mean more air balls to Nicks and Cruz from Eli, against a poor Carolina defense. The Giants are banged up on the line and in the secondary and should also give up plenty of points.

Cam Newton should be able to do more than Josh Freeman and the Bucs did last week, and that is a scary thought for Giants’ fans and bettors.

We like the over in this matchup, and could easily see this game getting into the 60 point range.

If we had to pick a side, it would be Carolina – they are at home and have played well enough to be favorites in this spot.

Over 51

Lean: Carolina +1

Back Carolina +1 on www.topbet.eu – the US friendly bookmaker.