The New England Patriots will travel to Charlotte to take on the Carolina Panthers in a matchup between two teams with opposite trajectories.
The Patriots look to be playing their best football right now, dismantling the New York Jets in Week 7 and pulling out a victory on the road over the Los Angeles Chargers this past week.
They have won three out of their last four with the lone loss coming to the Dallas Cowboys in overtime.
The Panthers, on the other hand, are hanging on by a thread.
They have been decimated by injuries — most notably to star running back Christian McCaffrey — and have lost four of their last five games.
Carolina's off a 19-13 win against the Atlanta Falcons in which they only threw for 129 yards.
Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said they are “hopeful” McCaffrey will play on Sunday, but he has not been activated from IR as of Friday night.
Here are the top three props bettors are taking in the matchup, per PointsBet.
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Patriots v. Panthers Most Popular Prop Bets
- Patriots first to 10 points (-165)
- First half highest-scoring half (-110)
- Punt to be outcome of first drive (-160)
The Panthers and Patriots rank eighth and ninth in first quarter points scored, respectively.
The Pats have scored 35 points in the first quarter over their last three games, averaging 11.7 first quarter points per game.
The Pats are used to getting off to hot starts and in a game that they will want to control from start to finish, laying the -165 with Patriots first to 10 points could be worth the juice.
If you think the Patriots will win and/or jump out to an early lead but not cover, the first to 10 points is smarter than laying -190 on the moneyline.
The teams’ ability to get off to hot starts offensively also bodes well for the first-half highest scoring half prop.
Both teams have performed better in the first half this season than the second. And if either grabs a lead, they'll likely put some faith in their run games in the second half.
Sam Darnold — if he plays — vs. Mac Jones doesn’t feel like the sort of quarterback matchup that would call for a second-half shootout. Keep an eye on the injury status of Darnold and McCaffrey before the game.
Punt to be the outcome of the first drive (-160) could be the riskiest of the three prop plays. The Patriots have to prepare for two different quarterbacks and running backs, and either of these teams could easily strike early.
