The Carolina Panthers (4-10) are stumbling into their last two games of the 2020 season, having lost eight of their last nine. Meanwhile, Ron Rivera’s Washington Football Team (6-8) is going the other direction and is currently in the lead to win the NFC East’s playoff spot.
The experts are split on picking between them. Here’s what they are predicting for this Week 16 matchup.
ESPN: Washington
To begin, eight of nine experts at ESPN went with Washington.
MMQB: Panthers
The MMQB panel went the other way, with four of six picking Carolina.
USA TODAY: Split
The group of national writers at USA TODAY were mostly split on this one. Four picked Washington and three picked the Panthers.
CBS Sports: Panthers
John Breech at CBS picked Carolina in a close game, 22-19.
Sporting News: Washington
Vinnie Iyer has Washington winning, 23-17.
Pro Football Talk: Washington
Finally, both Mike Florio (23-20) and Michael David Smith (27-20) predicted a Washington victory.
This is a tough one to call. Our gut says that at full strength this Carolina team should come out on top. Unfortunately, they’re likely playing without their best offensive and defensive talents in Christian McCaffrey and Brian Burns and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has been trending down lately. Throw in playing on the road against a motivated team that’s won four of five and it’s probably too much to overcome.
That said, we don’t know who will be QB for Washington at this time. Alex Smith missed last week’s loss with a calf injury but Dwayne Haskins struggled against the Seahawks and has been in trouble off the field, as well. Heading into the weekend, Smith is reportedly 50/50 to start. We’re taking the easy way out and making two picks depending on who plays QB.
Smith: Washington 26, Carolina 23.
Haskins: Panthers 23, Washington 20.
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