Top NFL Picks and Predictions Today for Thursday Night Football
The Falcons and Panthers are set to square off in a good ol' fashion dumpster fire dance between two terrible teams from the NFC South. BUT...this game actually carries significance as the 4-5 Falcons are tied for the division lead with the Bucs.
This has the feel of a tipping point moment for the Dirty Birds. Win and they're still in the hunt. Lose and it'll feel like those playoff dreams were just that...a dream. And who knows, maybe they are. But you gotta beat the 2-7 Panthers to have any chance.
The Falcons are road favorites in this game and the OVER/UNDER is pretty high for two offensively-challenged, run-first teams playing on Thursday Night Football. It could be a sloppy game, but that doesn't mean we can't win some coins.
Here are our best bets for the game tonight, including props, anytime TD scorers and a pick.
Falcons vs. Panthers Best Bets
Tyler Allgeier Anytime TD Scorer
The first pick comes from BetSided NFL expert, Iain MacMillan. We'll get to why he likes the pick in a second, but I love it because the Panthers have given up 9 rushing TDs and over 1,000 yards to running backs this year. With starting RB Cordarrelle Patterson still easing his way back from knee surgery and the Falcons on a short week, I could see them giving Allgeier more touches against a Carolina defense susceptible to the run. Here's what Iain said in his anytime TD scorer story.
Just because Cordarrelle Patterson scored two touchdowns for the Falcons last week, doesn't mean that Tyler Allgeier is not going to score moving forward. In fact, Allgeier played 38% of offensive snaps last week, only 1% less than Patterson who played 39% of snaps.
Allgeier was solid in Patterson's absence, rushing for 4.5 yards per carry while also racking up six receptions for 95 yards. He's still live to find the end zone on Thursday night.
Falcons -2.5 vs. Panthers
It seems almost everyone believes this line is too short and is backing the Falcons. Whenever that happens, a red alarm goes off in my head telling me to fade the public. But in this case, I think they're right.
The Panthers are arguably the worst team in the NFL with three bad quarterbacks and no offensive talent outside wide receiver DJ Moore. It took a miracle last-second TD catch by Moore in the first game between these teams to send it to OT, though the Panthers should have won if not for an extra point miss following Moore's TD/unsportsmanlike penalty.
With so much on the line for the Falcons, and with the Falcons actually having an identity on both sides of the ball (they're fourth in rushing yards per game and eighth at stopping the run), I see Atlanta pulling away in the second half and winning comfortably. BetSided expert Donnavan Smoot agrees and you can read why in his game preview.
So there you have it. My two best bets for the game. You can read about more player props for the game here if you want and I already pointed you toward the additional TD scorer picks above. Now let's sit back and hope the cash rolls in.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.