Panthers
vs.
Seahawks
NFC Divisional
Playoff Pick
1/10/15
The Seattle Seahawks will host the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Divisional Playoff on Saturday Night. This is the 2nd of two playoff Games on Saturday with kickoff Scheduled for 8:15 pm est. The Seahawks are currently -10.5 -105 at 5 dimes sportsbook as of Wednesday afternoon but it looks as though that line is trending downwards with -10 or less looking like a possibility. The current total is 39.5.
If the line does trend downwards it will be because people are buying into the legitiMACy of the Panthers. Don’t count us among the believers though. We picked against the Panthers last week and actually had a chance to be successful with just the Arizona defense showing up. Had the Cardinals offense been able to make just a play or two, the outcome would have been very different.
You think the Seahawks will be able to make a play or two? We do.
This is a Panthers team that went on a 1-8-1 run this year and won only 7 regular season Games. In that stretch they faced a buNCh of playoff teams and weren’t competitive in most of those. Sure, they played the Seahawks at home and had them on the ropes, but don’t expect the same results this time around as they hit the road in the playoffs. This Panthers team was only able to beat bad teams this year, iNCluding an Arizona team that lost what little offensive puNCh they had.
The Panthers lost by double digits to just about every good team they faced. They’ve done nothing this year to make anyone logically think they can go on the road and even keep it close with the defending Super Bowl Champs.
The Panthers were 3-4 on the road this year and lost by an average score of 24-27. Their defensive yards per point number on the road was a pathetic 12.8. So much for that Panthers defense everyone keeps talking about. The Seahawks were 7-1 at home winning by an average margin of 26-15 with a yards per point number of 18.1.
Our model predicts the following scores:
Full season data – Seattle 27-14
Last 7 Games only – Seattle 20-7
Last 4 Games only – Seattle 18-6
Any way you slice it, it looks like the Panthers are going to have a very tough time on both sides of the ball on Saturday night. There’s certainly nothing there to suggest that the Panthers are the right side unless you’re goal is to simply go against the obvious.
LAying -10 or more is always going to be a dangerous proposition in an NFL football Game. The Seahawks could dominate and be ahead by any of the scores mentioned above and yet lose against the number on a late GArbage TD. However, Seattle looks to be the only way to go in this one. They should win this Game in dominating fashion. The Seahawks should also be strongly considered in any teaser combinations.
We’ll hold out for -10 or better (currently -10.5). Seahawks -10