Cam Newton vs. Tua Tagovailoa: Who Will Have More Passing Yards?

The Carolina Panthers have a chance to make it back to .500 with the unlikeliest of heroes under center in Cam Newton.

After going unsigned all season, Newton was brought back to Carolina after Sam Darnold landed on injured reserve. 

In his first start last week, Newton went 21-for-27 with 189 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He added 46 yards and a TD on the ground in a vintage Cam performance despite losing 27-21. Question is, can he keep it rolling in Week 12 against the Miami Dolphins? 

Tua Tagovailoa will be his counterpart across the field after returning Week 10 following a short injury absence. Tua went 27-33 with 273 yards and two touchdowns in his second game back. 

So, do either of these two make for a noteworthy prop bet this weekend? What about who has a higher passing yard total?

Let’s look over the prop odds from WynnBET Sportsbook and make a few picks for this matchup. 

Cam Newton Passing Yards Total 219.5 (OVER -125/UNDER -115)

If last week’s game was any indication, Cam Newton is back, healthy and hungry. The Washington Football Team isn’t the best defense in the league but they are a big step up from the Dolphins. Miami ranks 29th overall in passing yards allowed to opposing quarterbacks, and 31st in opponent's passes per game. 

The Panthers should have a far easier time overall against the 4-7 Dolphins this week as opposed to last. Even still, Cam had a strong game in his first true start since returning from an extended absence. Getting Christian McCaffrey back in the lineup is also huge and the two know each other and work well together. I think that while Newton isn’t exactly in “midseason form” the lack of defensive skill and ability to mix up the gameplan leads to a strong performance from Superman. 

Tua Tagovailoa Passing Yards Total 224.5 (OVER -125/UNDER -115)

I am less optimistic about Tagovailoa building off of his performance last week. Its true, he had a very good game but it was against the New York Jets; the worst defense in the NFL, hands-down. They're so bad that even the Dolphins handled them with relative ease. 

Another concern I have about Tua here is that the Panthers’ second-ranked passing defense is giving up less than 200 yards per game this season. Tua has gone over this total just three times this season and none of those were against defenses as good as the Panthers. 

Tua’s per game passing yard average is 183.9 this season which is far lower than this week's predicted total. Considering how strong the Panthers are in the passing game and how little teams try to pass on them, the under seems like an obvious pick here.