NFL Preseason Preview: Panthers vs. Bengals Game Predictions

Written by Jake Thompson
Wednesday, 24 August 2011 21:34

It’s time to make NFL preseason predictions on the week 3 game between the Panthers and the Bengals.

The Carolina Panthers are on the road for their 7:00 PM ET game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday, and our predictions on the final score of this NFL preseason game will hopefully win some money for our readers.  Online sportsbooks have the NFL preseason odds favoring the home-team Bengals at -2.5 with a total of 34, while tracked football bettors are taking the Panthers at about a 65% ratio.

Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis has a 17-18 career record in the preseason and a 3-4 mark during week 3.  Carolina coach Ron Rivera sits at 1-1 since taking over the Panthers earlier this season.  The Bengals started out their preseason with a 3-34 drubbing at the hands of the Detroit Lions before looking equally as bad in a 7-27 loss to the New York Jets.  The Panthers won their NFL preseason opener 20-10 over the New York Giants before dropping a 10-20 game against the Miami Dolphins.

The Bengals’ first team offense has looked absolutely terrible and it is obvious they are not going to score many points until rookie quarterback Andy Dalton gets the hang of things.  Dalton has thrown 3 interceptions through 2 games and his inability to complete passes allows opposing defenses to clamp down on the running game.  Backups Bruce Gradkowski, Den LeFevour, and Jordan Palmer aren’t good bets to succeed either and the Bengals simply won’t score many points here.

Carolina’s quarterbacks have been just as bad, with Jimmy Clausen and top pick Cam Newton battling it out for the right to start when the regular season rolls around.  The Panthers seem pretty content with their running game and are mainly focusing on throwing the ball in an effort to find their starter.  Former Arizona and Cleveland quarterback Derek Anderson has looked like the best of the bunch but the Panthers didn’t play him last time out.  If Anderson plays late in this game, it will be a huge boost for an offense that otherwise will struggle to score points.  Since he has been taking more snaps in practice over the past few days, I’d have to say that Carolina has the edge in quarterback ability.

I just don’t see either team scoring many points and our Bengals vs. Panthers predictions are going to be on a low-scoring game that isn’t decided until Anderson comes in for Carolina and leads his team on a late scoring drive for a narrow win.  This isn’t going to be a pretty game to watch unless you like shutdown defense and turnovers, so don’t expect many Sportscenter highlights.  Carolina’s quarterbacks are just a little bit better in this battle of the worst, and that is why I’m playing the Panthers and the under 34.

Panthers vs. Bengals Final Score Predictions:

Panthers 16

Bengals 13

NFL Preseason Betting Record: 6-4