As the Carolina Panthers embark on Year 1 of the Sam Darnold era, will the NFL prognosticators be any kinder to Charlotte’s favorite team?
If you remember, a year ago, it was hard to find an expert who would pick Carolina on a regular basis, though Clucko the Chicken from College Football News (a real bird) leaned towards the Panthers on more than one occasion.
(Each week, two sets of feed are placed in front of Clucko, one representing each team, and whichever feed he goes for first, that’s the pick).
Carolina starts off the season Sunday at home against the Jets, who were 2-14 last season and haven’t had a winning record since 2015.
Off we go to see if a new quarterback and a good draft — plus a beatable opponent (Jets are 3-13 in road games the past two years) — changes anything.
Panthers-Jets predictions and picks
▪ Over at ESPN, Rich Cimini and David Newton both like Carolina to get Win One in Week One.
Cimini likes the Panthers 31-24, writing, “ Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey will have double-digit receptions for the 11th time in his career. He will be a matchup nightmare for the Jets, who don’t have anyone who can cover him.”
Newton picks 27-17 Panthers.
▪ All 11 of ESPN’s weekly expert panel are also picking David Tepper’s team.
▪ CBS Sports’ Will Brinson likes the Panthers by a touchdown, predicting a 31-24 Carolina win, but he’s not sure this is a game much of the league is excited about.
“If Darnold stinks against his old team,” Brinson writes, “Panthers fans are going to freak out. Conversely, if Darnold is awesome and Zach Wilson struggles, the NY Post back page is going to be incredible on Monday morning. So much at stake for such a meaningless game.”
▪ All eight members of CBS Sports’ panel picked Carolina to win. Ditto all seven members of the USA Today panel: all Panthers all the time.
▪ Bill Bender of the Sporting News likes Carolina to win 26-19.
▪ Three of the five Bleacher Report prognosticators pick Carolina.
▪ At NFL.com, writer Gregg Rosenthal likes Carolina to win a close one, 27-24, but has issues with the betting lines being very favorable to the home team.
“Will the pessimistic reports about the Jets’ offensive line in August translate to trouble against a sneaky good pass rush led by Brian Burns?,” Rosenthal writes. “Should any team starting Cam Erving at left tackle be as heavily favored as the Panthers are here? (My answer to the last one: No.).”
▪ Finally, at College Football News, seven people in the 11-person panel picked Carolina. One of the dissenters?
Clucko.