The San Francisco 49ers look to build on last week’s momentum as they travel east to face the Carolina Panthers Sunday afternoon. The game kicks off at 1:00 pm ET from Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The game is regionally televised on FOX. The week 2 odds currently show the Panthers as a 13 point favorite in this contest with the over/under set at 45.5 points.
San Francisco opened the Chip Kelly era on a positive note. They blanked the Rams, 28-0, on Monday Night Football last week. Carolina played in the NFL season opener on a Thursday night last week. They fell 21-20 on the road to the Broncos in a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl. This is the 19th all-time meeting between the franchises. Carolina holds an 11-7 advantage in the series. The Panthers won the last four regular season meetings, including a 10-9 win on November 10, 2013. San Francisco won the last meeting overall, taking a 23-10 win in the NFC Divisional Round on January 12, 2014.
San Francisco put together about as close to perfect an opener as you’ll find in the NFL. They held a 320-185 edge in total yards, rung up 28 first downs while allowing 10 and forced a pair of turnovers. As a result, it was the first season opening shutout in franchise history for the team. Blaine Gabbert was an effective game manager. He completed 22 of 35 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown pass while adding 43 rushing yards. Carlos Hyde ran the ball 23 times for 88 yards and two scores while Shawn Draughn found pay dirt on the ground. Jeremy Kerley led the 49ers in his team debut, catching seven balls for 61 yards. Quinton Patton chipped in five grabs for 60 yards. The defense stepped up, holding Todd Gurley to 17 carries for 47 yards.
Carolina led 7-0 after one quarter and 17-7 at the half on the road against the Broncos. Things went sideways in the second half. Carolina gave up a pair of touchdowns in the opening six minutes of the fourth quarter to fall behind 21-17. Graham Gano booted a field goal to make it a one point game with 4:21 to play. Carolina got the ball back one more time, taking over at their 40 with 3:06 to play. The Panthers caught a break, getting a first down on an illegal use of hands penalty after throwing incomplete on 4th and 21. Carolina eventually drove to the Denver 32, setting Gano up for a potential game winning kick. His 50 yard attempt slipped wide left, leaving Denver with the win and Carolina with as many losses after week 1 as they had all of last year.
Cam Newton completed 18 of 33 passes for 194 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He contributed 54 rushing yards and a score as well. Jonathan Stewart powered his way to 64 yards on 15 carries. Tight end Greg Olsen contributed a team leading seven receptions for 73 yards in the loss. Kelvin Benjamin was solid in his debut after missing all of last year with a torn ACL he suffered in training camp. He caught six passes for 91 yards and a touchdown. No other Carolina receiver caught more than one pass in the game. Newton has to find secondary targets to make the passing game work.
The Panthers are likely the better team, regardless of what last week says in the standings. The problem one has to mull over is if they’re nearly two touchdowns better. Sure, you get the west coast team coming east so it feels like a 10 am PT kickoff but that’s not as big a factor as it used to be. The Panthers just lost a game to a team playing a quarterback making his first pro start in Trevor Siemian. Let’s be honest, it could easily have been more than a one point game had Denver not committed three turnovers inside the Carolina 30. The Panthers should win but take the points and the 49ers here until Carolina proves they can win by that margin. Make sure to bookmark our site for all your free NFL picks!
San Francisco is 4-1 ATS in their last five vs. the NFC and 5-2 ATS in their last seven on grass. Carolina is 2-5 ATS in their last seven after running for at least 150 yards.