As evidenced by Cam Newton’s return to the Carolina Panthers, you can’t really predict football. But, hey, we can at least try.
Here’s how we’re forecasting the Week 10 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals.
Panthers win the coin toss
Carolina snapped their three-game losing streak in the coin toss department last week. It’s time to start another streak in other direction. Two in a row!
Cardinals do not score on their first possession
The aforementioned Newton news should not only reinvigorate the fan base, but it’ll probably give the team itself a little boost as well. It’ll show early, with Arizona being denied a mark on the scoreboard.
. . . or for the rest of the first quarter
And it’ll continue to show. The Cardinals have reached the end zone in the first quarter over each of the last two weeks. Not today.
But the Panthers do
The lone score of the first 15 minutes will be a field goal, perhaps of the 40 to 45-yard range, for former Cardinal and current Panther Zane Gonzalez. Revenge game?
P.J. Walker is held to under 225 passing yards
Walker’s getting quite the task in only the second start of his career. He’ll be facing the league’s sixth-stingiest pass defense, as the Cards have allowed just 209.9 yards through the air per game. Walker isn’t the guy to turn that tide.
At least 60 of those yards find Robby Anderson
Anderson has amassed just 27 receiving yards over the past four games. Four! A change at quarterback, with a guy Robby has some Temple ties to, might spark a change.
Christian McCaffrey finishes with over 100 scrimmage yards
McCaffrey, even in the limited serving he got last week, remains the focal point of this struggling Panthers offense. He recorded 106 yards from scrimmage against the New England Patriots on 18 total touches while playing in under half of the unit’s snaps. He’ll hit the mark again.
James Conner finishes with over 125 scrimmage yards
Carolina’s defense can be pretty stingy, too, having relinquished 293.1 total yards (second-fewest) per contest. But they’ve had some trouble wrapping up cleanly of late and Conner will find himself plenty of opportunities coming off a 26-touch game.
Cam plays
He won’t start, but Newton sees the field for at least a few plays. One thing still hasn’t changed since the last time the former MVP was here—he’s still a potent dual-threat quarterback. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady works in a spicy call or two to get Cam’s feet wet ahead of next week’s big homecoming.
Panthers lose
That good energy coming off the Newton addition won’t be enough for the Panthers to somehow topple the NFC’s best. Cardinals win by a comfy margin.
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