Bills vs. Panthers Point Spread: NFL Pre-Season Week 2 Odds, Prediction
There’s one obvious story line between Carolina and Buffalo and that’s Bills head coach Sean McDermott. He was the defensive coordinator of the Panthers from 2011-16 and was hired as the 20th head coach in Bills history in January 2017. He replaced the fired Rex Ryan. The eight previous head coaches with the Bills before McDermott all posted losing records and failed to make the playoffs.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Buffalo stunned just about everyone in 2017 by going 9-7 and reaching the post-season for the first time since 1999 – that had been the NFL’s longest active playoff drought. That now belongs to the Cleveland Browns, who last made it in 2002. McDermott’s Bills slipped to 6-10 last year and they aren’t projected to be much better in 2019. Buffalo is 4-5 in pre-season games under McDermott.
Carolina was also a playoff team in 2017 but slipped to 7-9 last year, which has put head coach Ron Rivera very much on the hot seat. The Panthers are 19-14 in exhibition games under Rivera. The Panthers are 3-point favourites at Sports Interaction.
Buffalo Bills
These teams will practice with each other in South Carolina on Tuesday and Wednesday – oftentimes when that happens before a preseason game, things can get a bit chippy in the game because the guys are tired of battling the same opponent over and over. The reason the Bills went south to do the joint practices was because of McDermott’s ties to the Panthers.
Buffalo was a 24-16 home winner against Indianapolis last Thursday. Top running back LeSean McCoy didn’t play at all. Third-round rookie tailback Devin Singletary, a guy some think could steal the top job and lead to Buffalo releasing McCoy (he’s vastly overpaid), rushed nine times for 27 yards and caught three passes. Starting QB Josh Allen was limited to two series and should play longer Friday.
The most memorable moment from the game was running back Christian Wade scoring on a 65-yard run. He’s a former rugby player from England who had never played a down of football before. That was his first and only carry of the game. Buffalo has placed starting cornerback EJ Gaines (groin) on injured reserve and replaced him by signing former Panthers cornerback Captain Munnerlyn.
Carolina Panthers
The Panthers were 23-13 winners in Chicago last Thursday. Starting quarterback Cam Newton, who had off-season shoulder surgery, didn’t play. He should briefly in this game and debut his alleged reworked throwing motion. He revamped that after the surgery to help take pressure off that troublesome shoulder.
Rookie QB Will Grier had an up-and-down debut vs. the Bears, completing 9-for-16 for 77 yards, a touchdown and interception. Kyle Allen started with Newton out and was 7-for-11 for 76 yards. The star of the game, though, was first-round rookie defender Brian Burns with two sacks.
Kicker Graham Gano will not play in this game as he’s dealing with some leg soreness. Joey Slye will handle kicks against the Bills. He was 3-for-3 on field goals last week but isn’t likely to make the team — perhaps the Panthers could get a late-round draft pick in trade for Slye, 23, if he continues to impress.
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