Pinnacle +3 +109 BET365 +3 +100 SportInteraction +3½ -105 BetOnline +3½ -112 Bookmaker +3

Posted at 8:45 AM EST.

CAROLINA +3 -105 over New England

1:00 PM EST. If you ever needed a game to show just how much influence the empty suits have at the pundit’s desk, this one would be it. Stop us if you’ve heard any of this bullshit this week:

“The Patriots are a team that gets better as the season goes on.”

“Bill Belichick knows Sam Darnold inside and out after his time with the Jets.”

“Mac Jones is the best quarterback of this rookie draft class, and he’s only getting better under BB.”

You get the point. The addition of a 27-24 win over the Chargers last Sunday is going to lend even more credibility to those talking points, at least on the surface, but we stand behind much of our criticism of Jones and BB last week. Both are overrated, and their stock is inflated. Jones especially. Dude went 18-for-35 for 217 yards last week—big whoop. If not for two Justin Herbert interceptions, the outcome of that game would have been much different. Before beating the Chargers, the Pats' wins had come over the Jets (twice) and Houston. Two teams with a combined two wins. Don’t forget the Patriots struggled mightily with the Davis Mills-led Texans.

The Panthers have scored one touchdown the last two weeks. For real. That’s pretty impressive, considering they won 19-13 in Atlanta last week on the foot of kicker Zane Gonzalez. In case you did not know, chicks don’t dig kickers, and neither does the betting public.

Sam Darnold opened the year with three strong performances and then crumbled for the last month with only two touchdowns total from four games and three of four failing to reach 180 passing yards. That coincided with the loss of RB Chrsitian McCaffrey. McCaffrey is back this week so at the very least, BB will have to pay attention to where he is on every play.

Just based on reputation alone, the Patriots are going to appear to be a strong play at what appears to be a short price against a team that can’t score, but the streets of Las Vegas are paved with ripped-up tickets of seemingly strong invaders laying road points. Rarely is that a situation we can get behind, and that doesn’t change here. At the end of the day, which is more trustworthy to the unsuspecting market: the Patriots or the Panthers. The answer is obvious. Our choice for this game is not.

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