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Oakland Raiders vs. Carolina Panthers FREE NFL Preview & Betting Pick

Raiders vs Panthers Betting / Handicapping

The Oakland Raiders and Carolina Panthers both will be feeling pretty good about themselves as they continue to play out the string and meet this Sunday in Charlotte.

Sunday, Dec. 23
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.
1 p.m. EST
Spread – Bucs -9.5 at GTBets
O/U – 46

Matchup | Preview

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Yep, the Raiders are 4-10 and the Panthers are just an inch better at 5-9. And yep, the playoff ship sailed into the sunset several weeks ago for both teams. But you take your victories any way you can get them in the NFL, and both teams are smiling a bit today.

The Raiders were finally able to end a losing streak that had begun all the way back on Nov. 4, had stretched to six games and had included losses to Cleveland and then-struggling New Orleans.

It didn’t matter that Oakland was unable to score even a single touchdown or that any win over Kansas City these days comes with an asterisk.

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Five field goals by Sebastian Janikowski was enough for a 15-0 victory, which the Raiders will have in their back pockets when they board a plane on Friday or Saturday and fly east.

Besides, head coach Dennis Allen says he likes the way his Raiders ran the ball (45 carries for 205 yards) as well as the way his front seven stopped the Chiefs’ ground game (Jamaal Charles 10 yards on nine carries), and hopes that carries over to the Carolina game.

“We all saw that when we execute that game plan the way that we feel we are capable of executing it, we have a chance to win games,” said Allen on Monday.

The Raiders will need to relpay that effort on Sunday, because the Panthers are actually playing pretty well as they close out the year.[soliloquy id=”82219″]

Last Sunday’s blowout victory over the Chargers in San Diego was the third victory in the last four for Carolina, a streak which may have calmed down QB Cam Newton a bit after an early-season five-game losing skid had the kid shaken up and saying foolish things.

Newton has returned to the planet, and had now thrown 152 passes without an interception. He has a respectable QB rating (88.9, 14th in the league) and has pretty much replicated his rookie-season numbers.
THE PICK – Neither team has been able to fatten the wallets of its backers. Oakland is 4-10 ATS and the Panthers are 7-7 against the number.

The heavy spread (9.5) is no doubt due to the fact that Oakland has not been able to score more than 20 points in game since Nov. 4 (six games).

But the way Carolina has been moving the ball, the Panthers should cover this one at home. Early money favors the Panthers by a 3-2 margin.

This game opened at as low as 7 (LVH in Vegas) but has been rising.

By Lawrence Paul

Lawrence Paul is back in the saddle as a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog. He's got an AMAZING knack for predicting when a team will have a letdown! Stick with our resident gambling experts sports betting tips all season long!