The Green Bay Packers sure could use a bounce-back win in Week 8. But then again, so could their opponents.
The Carolina Panthers come into Lambeau Field for a Thursday Night Football matchup this evening after both teams lost divisional games last Sunday. Although the Packers took the Detroit Lions down to the wire in a 20-17 loss, Carolina had a much less competitive performance as they got blown out by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 43-13.
It was an ugly game for the Panthers, who gave up more than 250
yards on the ground. Carolina also saw a few key players lost to injury, which makes for a tough turnaround on a short week. The Packers, meanwhile, have injury issues of their own and are already out a few starters as well.
With both teams banged up and sitting at or within a half-game of .500 on the season, the books see this as a pretty close matchup. The Packers get the usual home-field advantage on the lines, but FanDuel Sportsbook has them favored by just 3.5 points, suggesting they would see this game as a pretty even matchup on a neutral field.
For our part, APC’s writers do expect the Packers to find a way to win, though that half-point has us spooked a bit. Two of the Packers’ four wins have come by exactly three points this season, so the majority of us are taking the Panthers against the spread.
Here are our picks for this game — for entertainment purposes only. But give us your predictions in the comments below and let’s try to cheer on the Packers to follow up a huge Wednesday in Wisconsin sports with a good Thursday evening result.
Go Pack Go—wherever you go!
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