San Francisco 49ers (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS) vs. Carolina Panthers (0-1 SU, 0-1 ATS)
Week 2 NFL
Date/Time: Sunday, September 18, 2016 at 1PM EST
Where: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
TV: Fox
By Loot, NFL Football Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Betting Odds: SF +13.5/CAR -13.5
Over/Under Total: 45.5
The San Francisco 49ers come to Charlotte to face the defending NFC champion Carolina Panthers in key week two action. Carolina didn't get off to the best start, losing the season's Thursday Night Football opener to Denver, 21-20, in a rematch from last season's Super Bowl. Carolina was unable to exact some measure of revenge, squandering a 10-point lead in the 4th quarter to lose by a single point to their AFC nemesis. San Francisco, however, had a wildly successful week one, much to everyone's surprise, beating the LA Rams 28-0. It was a good start for a team that a lot of people were really down on to begin the season. For Chip Kelly, it was a great start to his new job as Niners' head coach.
It was a sour opener for Carolina on several different fronts. They took a lead and blew a double-digit advantage late, with Graham Gano missing a game-winning 50-yarder. Cam Newton was lukewarm on the evening, absorbing a series of shots that had him wobbly. It helps that he gets some extra time to lick his wounds before this game. Newton was punished in the pocket, in addition to on his 11 runs, where he took some head shots which were not called, much to the consternation of the team and their supporters and backers.
Newton, the reigning league MVP has a very un-MVP game on 18-for-33 passing with 194 yards and one TD and INT apiece. One element of hope was the way Newton was able to immediately reconnect with WR Kelvin Benjamin, the promising receiver who missed all of last season with a torn ACL. Benjamin hauled in 6 catches for 91 yards and a touchdown. Olsen had 73 yards receiving. That left the rest of the ball-catching crew with very little, as Olsen and Benjamin were the only ones to make an impact aerially. And Jonathan Stewart wasn't terribly impactful in this game. One thing to keep in mind moving forward is that to judge an offense based on week one is a pretty faulty practice, especially when that opening game comes in the thin air of Denver against that "D." Not a lot of offenses look that great in those conditions.
The Carolina defense wasn't all that bad, especially early, when two quick takeaways had the Panthers dominating the beginning of the game. LB Thomas Davis and CB Bene Benwickere each hauled in interceptions, while Shaq Thompson recovered a fumble. They led the league in turnovers last season and look to again this season. Luke Kuechly was his normal self, with ten tackles. At the same time, after holding Denver to 7 first-half points, to fold like that down the stretch as Denver was being led by a QB in Trevor Siemian in his first start, is not a good early development. Carolina is going to need to show they can handle adversity a little better and that they're not a front-running team. Sometimes, they just don't have an answer when things start heading downhill.
One should expect a better version of the Panthers in this game. A 15-1 team from last season, they will be gunning to avoid an 0-2 start and they are in a winnable game to make that happen. They'll be dug in at home for their opener and in a far more advantageous spot. Even Carolina coach Ron Rivera was vocal about the start of the season making them feel rushed, as if they wouldn't be ready to hit the ground running. Look for coaches and players to be on-point in front of what should be an appreciative crowd for last season and a raucous one, at that.
The 49ers really grabbed the bull by the horns in week one with the shutout win over the Rams at home. There was a lot to like about their performance and maybe Chip Kelly can do what he did for Philly when he took a 4-12 team and got them to the playoffs in his first season. There's a long way to go and some might recall last season when the Niners pounded the Vikings at home 20-3 to open last season and then it would be weeks before they covered a spread again. Some optimism is warranted. A lot of people listed the Niners among the worst teams in the league and they looked anything but that in week one. But last season taught us that ascribing too much importance to a week one game can have us off-course for weeks.
Also among the positive signs for San Fran in their shutout win over the Rams was the "D." It was once the shining point of this team and some old contributors are still on hand to lead this unit to better times. NaVorro Bowman looked better than ever on Monday, registering a pick and being at the bottom of a lot of piles. Ahmad Brooks also had a sack. The Rams had a miserable 185 yards of total offense on the evening and never even saw the red zone. A lot of that had to do with what looked like Rams offense that was completely out-of-sorts. But a lot of it had to do with the 49ers defense, which really looked great. Again, however, we remember last season when they gave up just a field goal at home to the Vikes.
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Blaine Gabbert was hardly a ball of fire as QB for San Fran, but he was efficient and commandeered the offense smoothly enough. He connected well with Jeremy Kerley and Quinton Patton, while hitting TE Vance McDonald for a touchdown. Carlos Hyde, who saw his rookie season cut short last year, was excellent with 2 touchdown runs and some other productive scampers. With the defense playing the way it did, the offense didn't need to be great and at times, they were pretty listless. But they'll take a 28-0 win every week if they could.
It's clear what the 49ers face this week as they take to the road and whatever it is, it's a heck of a lot tougher than what they faced in week one at home with a not-ready-for-prime-time Rams bunch. Carolina is pining to avoid the 0-2 start and after failing to Denver in their last two games going back to last season, it's high-time they show everyone who the Panthers are. And having played last Thursday, they are more-rested than the Niners on a short week. Early in the season, I'm not sure how much that matters and the Rams win wasn't the most-punishing game. I'm taking the 49ers and the points.
Loot's Prediction to Cover the Point Spread: I'm betting the San Francisco 49ers plus 13.5 points. Bet the San Francisco 49ers vs. Carolina Panthers game for FREE by taking advantage of a massive 100% sign-up bonus on your first deposit of $100 to $500 at GTBets!
