Carolina Panthers NFC South Odds: Why are the Champs Third?

Winning a division while being outscored by 69 points is the fact Carolina Panthers betting odds have to price.

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Carolina finished 8-9 last season and took the NFC South, a first division title since 2015 and a first playoff appearance since 2017.

They scored 311 points, 27th in the league, and conceded 380.

Seeded 4th, they lost the wild card game 34-31 to a Los Angeles Rams side that had won four more games and been seeded below them.

PowerPlay Sportsbook has Carolina 80.00 for Super Bowl LXI, 35.00 in the NFC and 4.00 to win the division, third behind Tampa Bay at 2.75 and New Orleans at 3.50.

The reigning champions are the third choice in their own division. Let's dig deeper into it.

Odds correct at time of publication and subject to change.

They Spent $165M Dollars on Two Defenders

Carolina signed the edge rusher Jaelan Phillips from Philadelphia on four years and 120 million dollars, an average of $30m.

They added the linebacker Devin Lloyd from Jacksonville on three years and $45m, with $25m guaranteed at signing.

Lloyd made the Pro Bowl last season with 81 tackles and five interceptions, one of them a 99 yard return for a touchdown.

That is $165m committed to two players on a defence that conceded 380 points, by a club that scored 311.

The rookie receiver Tetairoa McMillan won Offensive Rookie of the Year with 70 catches for 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns, beating the Saints quarterback Tyler Shough and the Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart to it.

Dave Canales is in a third season as head coach with Brad Idzik on offence and Ejiro Evero on defence.

Both Starting Tackles Are Unavailable

This is the part of the analysis that matters most and gets the least attention.

The right tackle Taylor Moton was diagnosed with a blood clot in his left lung in late June and placed on the non-football injury list on 21 July.

It ended a long run of consecutive starts and rules him out of the start of the season. He has responded well to blood thinners.

The left tackle Ikem Ekwonu ruptured a patellar tendon in the January wildcard game and opened on the reserve list alongside the defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton.

All three miss at least the first four games.

Carolina made 32 roster moves plus a trade at the cutdown, waiving sixteen and releasing ten vested veterans.

The notable cut was the linebacker Trevin Wallace, a former starter, let go after the club agreed terms with Bobby Okereke.

They also sent a 2028 sixth round pick to the Chargers for the defensive tackle TeRah Edwards.

Two Canadians. One Won a Roster Spot in August

Chuba Hubbard, from Sherwood Park in Alberta, is on a four year extension worth $33.2m, with $15m fully guaranteed.

John Metchie III, from Brampton, made the initial 53 ahead of the veteran David Moore after leading the club in preseason receiving.

He is reunited with Bryce Young, his team mate at Alabama, which is the kind of detail that decides marginal roster calls.

Carolina open at home to Chicago and have no international fixture.

Bank of America Stadium is being renovated at a cost of more than $800m, due for completion by 2029, in a ground that holds 75,037.

Odds correct at time of publication and subject to change.

The Case Either Way

The case for is that a division title is a division title.

A club that won one has now spent $165m on the side of the ball that was the problem.

The case against is minus 69. Carolina were outscored by more than any playoff team in the conference and are now starting a season without either of their starting tackles.

They are 1.67 to go under 7.5 regular season wins, the firmest under lean in the division.

The reigning champions being third favourite is not obviously wrong. It is the market saying the 8-9 was the truth and the trophy was the accident. Do you agree?