Seahawks at Panthers: Odds, trends and more

The Carolina Panthers host the Seattle Seahawks Sunday afternoon at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

The Carolina Panthers finished the regular season 15-1 to earn the top overall seed in the NFC. The Cam Newton led Panthers will try to continue the magical season Saturday afternoon when the Seattle Seahawks come to Bank of America Stadium.

The Panthers are favored by 1.5 points at home, with the OVER/UNDER set at 44, according to OddsShark.

The Seahawks barely escaped Minnesota with a victory last Sunday, but a Blair Walsh blunder helped keep the hopes of a third straight Super Bowl appearance alive. The Vikings were 4.5 point favorites last week, but covering the spread does not do much for the fans who braved the freezing temperatures only to see victory slip away in the final seconds. The loss against the spread last week puts the Seahawks at 6-2 in the last eight against the spread.

An intriguing trend comes with the OVER/UNDER. In the last five meetings between the two teams in Carolina, the spread has gone UNDER each time. However, the score has gone OVER in four of the Panthers’ last five home games.

These two teams met in Week 6 in Seattle, where the Panthers won 27-23. In such a tough rough environment, the 27 points scored by the Panthers could be a sign of things to come this Sunday, when the rested Panthers can feed off the energy at home.

Seattle will also have a bolstered offense, as Marshawn Lynch has declared himself ready to play. The fact that this game will not be played in sub-zero temperatures will help the scoring as well.

This game is a matchup between two teams close in talent, shown by the fact that the Seahawks are 4-2 against the spread in its last six games, while the Panthers are 5-1 against the spread in its last five at home.