NFL Week 2 Preseason Matchup Featuring Carolina at Tennessee

Posted by Eric Williams on Friday,August 19, 2016 5:15, EDT in

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Ready to cash in on some online NFL betting odds? Then Saturday’s Week 2 matchup between the Carolina Panthers and Tennessee Titans is offering some value. The Titans will look to build on their impressive Week 1 win over San Diego while the Panthers try to rebound from their humbling Week 1 loss against Baltimore. The pair will throw down this Saturday in Nashville.

Analyzing The NFL Week 2 Preseason Matchup Featuring Panthers at Titans

When: Saturday, August 20, 2016 at 3:00 PM ET
Where: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN
TV: NFL Network
Live Stream: NFL Game Pass
NFL Odds: Tennessee Titans -1 / Over/Under: 41.5

Why Bet on Carolina +1 Point

The Carolina Panthers (17-2 SU, 13-6 ATS) would like to rebound from their 22-19 loss to Baltimore last week, but I suspect Jim Harbaugh’s main goal is to get out of this contest with his starters as healthy as possible. Besides, while the Panthers lost to the Ravens in Week 1, it’s not like they played awful football.

Cam Newton completed 5 of his 6 passes for 36 yards while veteran backup Derek Anderson completed 50 percent of his passes with one touchdown pass. Third string signal-caller Joe Webb was limited to 56.3 percent completion and was sacked twice, but was playing with third string backups and many players that won’t make Carolina’s regular season roster.

Running back Brandon Wegher was limited to 13 yards on 10 carries and Cameron Artis-Payne was held to 10 yards on five carries. Brenton Bersin led Carolina with five catches, while veteran tight end Greg Olsen had two catches and Kelvin Benjamin, one catch in his return after missing last season with injuries. The Panthers defense held Baltimore 288 yards of offense and recorded one sack, one fumble recovery and one interception. David Mayo led the Panthers with eight tackles.

Why Bet on Tennessee -1 Points

The Titans (3-13) are looking to bounce back from a horrific three-win campaign in 2015 that ultimately cost former head Coach Ken Whisenhunt his job. Still, Tennessee has tons of talent and it was on full display in their 27-10 Week 1 win over San Diego.

Second-year signal-caller Marcus Mariota went 5-for-5 in limited playing time while backups Matt Cassel and Alex Tanney each completed 60 percent of their passes as the Titans rolled up 437 yards of offense in the win. Veteran running back DeMarco Murray rushed for 93 yards including a 71-yard touchdown run and rookie Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry added 74 yards and one touchdown. Veteran wide receiver Andre Johnson had two catches for the Titans in the win.

Defensively, The Titans looked very good by recording two sacks, a fumble recovery and two interceptions. Avery Williamson led Tennessee in tackles with five while Deiontrez Mount added four tackles and a sack.

Expert Prediction and Betting Pick

Tennessee is 16-33-3 ATS in their last 52 home games and a dismal 15-35-4 ATS in their last 54 games overall. Carolina has put together an insane 11-5 ATS mark in their last 16 games, but have also gone 0-4 ATS in their last four road games. All ATS trends aside, I like the Tennessee Titans to go all out in order to boost their confidence and get the win while Carolina basically wants to escape this game unscathed.

Even though it’s a meaningless preseason game for the NFC defending conference champs, it’s much more than that for young and rebuilding Titans team with a new regime under the leadership of Mike Mularkey. I expect Tennessee to get the big home win and ATS cover.