Panthers vs Texans Prediction & NFL Odds for Week 3

• Darnold continues to impress
• Davis Mills struggles against developing Panthers secondary
• Jaycee Horn continues to prove he’s a first-rounder

This week’s Panthers vs Texans game seems underwhelming at first. 2 teams that look to reach for the playoffs but this game could be a good one if both teams come ready to play. The Panthers are coming off of a week 2 26-7 thrashing of the Saints and the Texans put up a good performance against the Browns yesterday, at one point almost looking to win the game.

Betting Odds & Lines for This Game

• Spread: Panthers -4
• MoneyLine: Panthers -210, Texans +175
• Total: 45

All odds listed are courtesy of (PointsBet | Caesars | DraftKings | Fanduel | BetRivers)

Panthers vs Texans Prediction: Spread

This is likely going to be a much better game than many people are giving it credit for. Panthers start the week at a -4 point favorite and that looks to be a good place for them after last week’s performance. They crushed the Saints who in week 1 made the Packers’ strong squad look like a high school team while the Texans looked much stronger than anyone thought against the playoff-bound Browns.

During the Texans game, Tyrod Taylor went out with an injury and was immediately ruled out for Thursday. After the game coach David Culley was asked if Deshaun Watson could play and he surprisingly responded with “We’ll have to see”. This was big news and many people thought Deshaun might play for the first time this season but Culley came out Monday and said Deshaun will remain deactivated for the game.

With this news, we can now assume that David Mills will start as he is now the last QB on the Texans’ active roster. Mills did decently covering for Taylor going 8/18 for 102 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. Not great, but against a solid Cleveland defense as the third-string QB not bad either. Practice Squad QB, Jeff Driskel, will likely be elevated to the active roster before the game in case Mills gets hurt during the game.

• Free Prediction: Panthers -4

Panthers vs Texans Prediction: MoneyLine

Both teams looked strong last week but the Panthers certainly looked more dominant. If the Panthers show up like that again they will clean up this game but that isn’t a guarantee. As we saw with the Saints, teams can go from very good to very bad in just one week. Darnold looked great against a better Saints squad then the Texans have but the Panthers have shown they can be very inconsistent.

The Texans aren’t out of this game entirely either. They looked strong against the Browns and were a few key plays away from a win. They have the potential to beat the Panthers on an even slightly off day if they come ready but the Panthers certainly looked better this week. Because of this, Panthers look to be poised as the favorite to take this game.

• Free Prediction: Panthers

Panthers vs Texans Prediction: Total

This is a very tough one to call. If the Panthers defense shows up like they did against the Saints then this game will likely be heavily under. I don’t like the Texans putting up a lot of points if the Panthers play well, especially with a third-string QB. If they show up then the Panthers offense will likely have to put up 30+ points to hit the over which isn’t impossible but not likely either.

The Texans played well against the Browns and if the Panthers’ defense is off rhythm then the Texans could likely put up 21+ points even with a third-string QB. If this happens with the Texans weak secondary then crush the over. What would I take this week? I would take the under with the assumption that the Panthers are getting into their groove and the Texans playing with a third string QB.

• Free Prediction: under 45

Bet on This NFL Game

Check out this post for a full list of our weekly NFL predictions.

Prop Predictions

Christian McCaffrey should be set up perfectly for a big day. The Texans gave up 150 rushing and 213 passing yards to the Browns and as the perfect dual-threat RB McCaffrey could very realistically pull 100+ rush and 100+ passing yards with multiple TDs against a defense that has shown it isn’t very good at defending against big-time players.