On Sunday, the Carolina Panthers (5-6) will look to pull back to .500 when they host the visiting Washington Redskins (2-9).
After suffering three-straight gut-wrenching losses, the Carolina Panthers enter Sunday’s contest with virtually no playoff hopes. Fortunately for the Panthers though, the Washington Redskins are one of the worst teams in football, and should provide Carolina with a tremendous opportunity to get back into the win column. If the Panthers can take care of business over the next couple of weeks, there’s a slim chance they can crawl back into playoff contention. Without further ado, here are Old North Banter’s staff predictions for this weekend’s game against the Redskins.
Luke Tucker (@luketucker19_): Panthers 31, Redskins 20
Heading into this matchup, the Panthers are heavy favorites by just about any metric, however, no game in the NFL can be viewed as a cake-walk–this one included. Washington ranks dead-last in the league in yards and points per game, and their defense isn’t much better. With that being said, Carolina will have an opportunity to get back on track after crushing losses to Green Bay, Atlanta, and New Orleans the last three weeks. As I mentioned earlier, no game is a given in the NFL, but if the Panthers can confuse Dwayne Haskins and limit Adrian Peterson and Terry McLaurin, they’ll give themselves a great chance to win. In the end, look for the Panthers to win by a couple scores.
Ty Smith (@tysmithnc): Panthers 27, Redskins 14
The Panthers have seen their playoff hopes dwindle in a brutal November run, but even a wounded team has a solid chance against the hapless Redskins. Washington is a complete trainwreck, and should provide Carolina a solid opportunity to wind down a brutal month with their sixth victory of the 2019 campaign. Christian McCaffrey should feast on the 28th-ranked rushing defense and continue his run on the record books; quarterback Kyle Allen will look to improve on his performance in New Orleans on Sunday. The wild card here may be the weather: rain is in the forecast for Charlotte, which could shake things up for all involved. Still, look for the Panthers to emerge victorious over a team more concerned with their 2020 draft position than their record.
Daniel Wilson (@DJWilson1993): Panthers 31, Redskins 10
Washington is garbage, and Carolina needs a win to bounce back from its three-game losing streak. This should be the perfect game for Kyle Allen to show everyone, namely the administration who may or may not want to draft another quarterback in 2020, how valuable he can be should Cam Newton be deemed unreliable to continue using. Christian McCaffrey will continue to do Christian McCaffrey things which will include, but not be limited to, completely eviscerating Washington’s defense. The Panthers are going to dominate, plain and simple.