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David Newton, ESPN Staff WriterDec 10, 2024, 11:46 AM ET
- David Newton is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Carolina Panthers. Newton began covering Carolina in 1995 and came to ESPN in 2006 as a NASCAR reporter before joining NFL Nation in 2013. You can follow Newton on Twitter at @DNewtonespn.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Barring a dramatic late movement in the betting line, the Carolina Panthers will be favored to win on Sunday for the first time since Week 15 of the 2022 season when they play host to the Dallas Cowboys.
That would end a streak of 33 straight games as underdogs.
The Panthers (3-10) are 2-point favorites against the Cowboys (5-8), according to ESPN BET. If the spread holds it will be the first time since Dec. 18, 2022, when they were a 3-point favorite against the Pittsburgh Steelers at home, that they were favored.
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They lost to the Steelers 24-16.
Carolina is on a roll against the spread, covering in five straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL. It closed as a 13.5-point underdog to the Philadelphia Eagles in Sunday’s 22-16 loss.
A big reason has been the recent play of quarterback Bryce Young, the top pick of the 2023 draft.
Young’s Total QBR (60.0) since Week 9 ranks 13th in the NFL, ahead of Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, Washington’s Jayden Daniels, Denver’s Bo Nix, Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts and the other quarterbacks in the NFC South, to name a few.
That’s a big jump from Young’s NFL-worst 9.9 QBR the first two games that contributed to him being benched in favor of Andy Dalton.
If Young and the Panthers remain favored against Dallas, and cover, it will be the first time they’ve done that since Sept. 23, 2021, when they defeated the Houston Texans 24-9 as a 9-point favorite.
