49ers at Panthers: Game preview, odds, prediction

The Carolina Panthers will host the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2 on Sunday afternoon. Here is this game’s preview, the betting odds, and a prediction.

The Carolina Panthers (0-1) will play their 2016 home opener on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers (1-0). Kickoff is at 1:00 PM ET at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. FOX will air the telecast.

Carolina is left with a bitter taste in its mouth after a tough Week 1 loss to the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football, 21-20. With a chance to win the game at the end of regulation, Panthers kicker Graham Gano missed a 50-yard field goal wide left to fall to the defending Super Bowl Champions at Mile High.

San Francisco won the final game of Week 1 by demolishing an NFC West rival in the Los Angeles Rams at Levi’s Stadium on Monday Night Football, 28-0. The 49ers seem to have a strong rushing attack under new head coach Chip Kelly. San Francisco may not be the worst team in its own division after that convincing Week 1 victory.

Here are the odds for this upcoming NFC game in Charlotte on Sunday afternoon:

Odds

Point Spread: Carolina -13

Moneyline: Carolina -111, San Francisco +700

Over/Under: 48.5

Las Vegas feels strongly that Carolina is going to bounce back with a strong first win of the season at home on Sunday. The Panthers will have had 10 days to prepare for the 49ers before kickoff. Conversely, the 49ers have just six days to get ready for a cross-country road trip to Charlotte to face a dominant team in the NFC.

The opening line for the 49ers at Panthers is a whopping 13 points that Carolina will be giving San Francisco. Carolina was able to crush its opponents last season, but failed to cover the spread in Week 1 at Denver. San Francisco was given 2.5 points on Monday night before wrecking the Rams.

The over/under has this game projected at 48.5. Unless the 49ers are able to get three rushing touchdowns again this week, that point total is way too high. A low-scoring affair favors the Panthers and their vaunted defense. Go with the under in this one. Take the 49ers if they are given at least 10 points on the road.

To be fair, this could be a blowout grossly in the Panthers favor. Carolina had the best record in the NFC in 2015, while San Francisco had the No. 7 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. The Panthers are the better of the two teams, but struggled to make adjustments in Denver. San Francisco dictated the pace from the get-go in Santa Clara on Monday night against the Rams.

What this game is really going to boil down to is: Who wants it more? That would be the Panthers, who went 15-1 last regular season. An 0-2 start in 2016 is not acceptable for head coach Ron Rivera and his staff. Rivera, his star quarterback Cam Newton, and his star middle linebacker Luke Kuechly will bring the hammer in this one.

San Francisco pitched a shutout in Week 1. The 49ers aren’t going to move the chains through the air with quarterback Blaine Gabbert in this one. The running game will be decent, but won’t get the 49ers into the end zone more than once.

Carolina wins a low-scoring affair, but San Francisco covers. Both teams leave Week 2 with identical 1-1 records on the season. The Panthers rebound, but the 49ers don’t embarrass themselves.

Prediction: Panthers 24, 49ers 13