A young quarterback prospect brings hope to a new franchise. Look how guys like C.J. Stroud and Jayden Daniels have turned around the Houston Texans and Washington Commanders, seemingly overnight. Rookie Bo Nix is already off to a promising start. But it doesn’t always happen overnight. Some quarterbacks, like Baker Mayfield or Geno Smith, took some time to develop. The Panthers are hoping that Bryce Young can be on more of the Josh Allen trajectory where his struggles passing the football end after a year or two.

Both of these teams have young, unproven quarterbacks. And a lot of moving parts. That can make things tricky for our Panthers vs. Broncos Week 8 predictions. But we’ll take our time to dig into the teams, the data, and injury reports to see if there is a play worth making with this matchup.

Even if you just want to see the Panthers vs. Broncos odds and have Panthers vs. Broncos picks of your own, don’t forget to scroll down at the end to see how you can scoop up a $1,500 BetMGM Sportsbook sign-up bonus!

 

 

 

Panthers vs. Broncos Predictions For NFL Week 8, Sunday 10/27

Given that this is an NFC vs. AFC matchup, these teams don’t meet that often - unless it’s in the Super Bowl. And that’s exactly what happened in 2016 when Peyton Manning defeated Cam Newton. Typically, they would then play only every four years but the 17-game schedule has allowed for an additional interconference game each year which saw the Broncos and Panthers meet again in 2022 (which the Panthers won 23-10). Of the last four meetings from the Super Bowl until now, that’s the only game the Panthers won. But those were different staffs and quarterbacks so that’s mostly just history now.

Sean Payton and company dropped their first two games but have since gone 4-1 with wins over the Saints, Raiders, Jets, and Buccaneers. The Panthers have had a rough go so far with a 1-6 record, their only win coming against the Las Vegas Raiders.

 

 

 

Carolina Panthers: Back to Bryce Young

Dave Canales decided after two games that it was the in the best interest of the team and of Bryce Young himself to bench him in favor of Andy Dalton. The team turned around and won their first game with Dalton against the Raiders but have since dropped four straight. Dalton was injured in a car accident this week so Bryce Young will step back into the starting role.

Young will re-inherit a squad that is missing their top two wide receivers in Diontae Johnson and Adam Thielen. Rookie RB Jonathan Brooks is not yet ready to play and tight end Tommy Tremble could miss again, leaving his top veteran weapons as Chuba Hubbard and Jonathan Mingo to go along with rookies Xavier Legette at wide receiver and Ja’Tavion Sanders at tight end.

The Panthers defense so far has been historically bad. As NFL STATS points out on X, the 243 points they have allowed is tied for the 2nd most given up by a team through seven games since the merger. It’s no surprise that FTN Fantasy has them ranked dead last against the run and second to last against the pass in DVOA.

 

 

 

Denver Broncos: The Box Nix Era

No one would have been surprised if Sean Payton named a veteran QB as the starter, especially with them bringing in Zach Wilson. But Bo Nix won the job and, although it hasn’t been perfect, it has certainly been promising. Payton and offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi love short passes, especially to the running back. The Broncos rank 4th this year in RB targets and Lombardi’s offenses have never been outside the top five. That’s helped Bo Nix limit the turnovers thus far.

Outside of Javonte Williams and Courtland Sutton, the Broncos have been running “live tryouts”. Different players have been featured or put on the backburner with guys like Lucas Krull, Greg Dulcich, and Devaughn Vele spending time as healthy inactives. This past week Sutton played 86% of the snaps while everyone else rotated. Adam Trautman (62%) actually led the pass-catchers followed by Troy Franklin (51%), Lil’Jordan Humphrey (51%), Lucas Krull (45%), Devaughn Vele (43%), Nate Adkins (29%), and Mavin Mims Jr (18%). 

The defense has been the main factor in a lot of these wins for Denver - especially against the pass where Pat Surtain has become of the most difficult assignments for opposing wide receivers. He may commit some penalties from time to time but he’s a big part of why the Denver defense is top 5 in fewest passing yards allowed per game this season.

 

 

 

Panthers vs. Broncos Odds, Spreads, Total & Betting Lines

As promised, the latest Panthers vs. Broncos odds can be found below courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook:

Panthers vs. Broncos: Panthers +11 (-110 at BetMGM Sportsbook)

The Panthers are not a good football team. There’s no doubt about that. But the question here is more about whether the Denver Broncos are the kind of team that deserves to be 11-point favorites - the second highest of the season behind only the Titans @ Lions this week at 11.5. Even the back-to-back Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs are only 9.5-point favorites against the Las Vegas Raiders, a team that both the Broncos and the Panthers beat.

The Broncos should win this game but these types of spreads should be reserved for the dominant offenses of the world, like the Detroit Lions. Given the experimental nature of the operation Sean Payton is running, I would not be surprised to see them take a chance here to continue rotating rookies like Troy Franklin or Audric Estime in to see what they have.

When all is said and done, this might not end up the lopsided total Vegas thinks it will be. Especially considering they only expect 41 points to be scored. Losing by 9-10 points is still a decisive victory and, as we know, the most common margins of victory are three, seven, six, and ten in that order. For me, 11 point spreads are reserved for elite teams and I just don’t put the Denver Broncos in that category right now.

 

 

 

Panthers vs. Broncos Injury Report & Latest News

Finally, let’s take a quick look at the projected starting lineups for both teams heading into tonight’s matchup:

CAR Panthers

DEN Broncos

  • DB PJ Locke - Doubtful
  • OT Alec Palczewski - Questionable

 

 

 

How To Bet On Panthers vs. Broncos At BetMGM Sportsbook & Claim Your $1,500 Bonus With Promo Code ALARM

Now that you’re armed with our Panthers vs. Broncos predictions, let’s take you through the aforementioned $1,500 BetMGM sign up bonus. You’ll just need the BetMGM promo code ALARM when creating a new account, but our links and banners should have it filled in for you.

So, just be sure to then deposit $10 or more. Then, place your first wager for at least $10 and up to $1,500 on anything, whether it’s Panthers vs. Broncos picks or something else. You can then be worry-free, as you’re guaranteed to receive something.

You’ll either see your winnings hit your account, or if it loses, a full refund will be issued in bonus bets. It’s the best way to take advantage of our Panthers vs. Broncos predictions, and you can click here to activate our exclusive BetMGM promo code ALARM now!