Panthers Broncos Odds

In a rematch of Super Bowl 50, the Carolina Panthers travel to face the Denver Broncos on Thursday, September 8th to kick off the 2016 NFL season. The Broncos beat the Panthers 24-10 in the Super Bowl for their fourth win in the past five meetings in this series.

Carolina was the best team in the regular season last year with a 15-1 record and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Denver posted a 12-4 record to earn the top seed in the AFC, and parlayed that into a remarkable Super Bowl run.

Kickoff inside Sports Authority Field is scheduled for 8:30 EST Thursday night with NBC providing the television coverage. Oddsmakers in Las Vegas have pegged Carolina as a 3-point favorite over Denver with a total set of 41.5 points.

My Early Lean: Broncos +3

Rarely will you ever find a defending Super Bowl champion as an underdog at home in the regular season opener the next season. The last time it happened the Patriots won outright as 2.5-point home underdogs.

I believe the value is with the Broncos at home here. I know Peyton Manning is gone, but the Broncos won in spite of him last year. They still have an elite defense led by Von Miller and company and will ride that defense once again this season. Trevor Siemian won’t be that much of a downgrade from Manning.

While Denver continues to lack respect from oddsmakers, Carolina comes into 2016 overvalued due to its 15-1 season last year. But this team got several good breaks in close games last year and won’t be going 15-1 again.

The Broncos have had a huge home-field advantage over the last several years and went 8-2 at home last season. They held opponents to 18.2 points and 271.1 yards per game at home last year.

The Broncos are 4-1 SU & 3-2 ATS in their last five meetings with the Panthers.

The Panthers are 0-4 ATS in their last four road games dating back to last season. The Broncos are 7-1 ATS in their last eight Thursday games. The Broncos are 4-1 SU & 3-2 ATS in their last five meetings with the Panthers.

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