Preseason: Washington Commanders vs Carolina Panthers 8/13/22 NFL Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers clash Saturday night in week 1 NFL Preseason action from FedEx Field.

The Carolina Panthers will try to take a step forward in 2022 after finishing with five wins for the third straight season following a 5-12 mark last year and missing the playoffs for the 4^th straight year. Head coach Matt Rhule has stated that the quarterback duties will not be decided until later in the preseason, meaning the job is up for grabs between the incumbent Sam Darnold, the incoming former first overall pick Baker Mayfield and even third round pick, gunslinger Matt Corral from Ole Miss. The Panthers will be hoping to get some healthy time from Christian McCaffrey, who has played just ten games in the last two seasons combined. The Panthers still have a solid receiving corps led by led by D.J. Moore, who recorded over 1,100 receiving yards last season as well as Terrace Marshall Jr. and Robby Anderson. On defense, Brian Burns anchors the defensive line while Cory Littleton leads the linebackers and Jaycee Horn and Jeremy Chinn make up a pair of strong pieces for the Panthers’ secondary.

The Washington Commanders will try to make a move in the perennially disappointing NFC East after finishing 7-10 in 2021, missing the playoffs and finishing 3^rd in the division. Kyle Allen and Taylor Heinicke will still lead the charge one way or another for Washington under center this season while Antonio Gibson heads up a strong three man attack for the Commanders on the ground with Jaret Patterson and Jonathan Williams in the wings as well. Terry McLaurin remains the do-it-all receiver for Washington but will hopefully have help from Curtis Samuel, Adam Humphries and rookie Dyami Brown from North Carolina. On defense, Montez Sweat leads the defensive line for Washington while Cole Holcomb and first-round pick Jamin Davis out of Kentucky will hope to lead the linebackers this season. Kamren Curl leads the Commanders secondary as well this season.

I get that neither of these teams have announced a starting QB as of yet, and they’ll have their motives for resting guys and doling out certain amounts of playing time. However, I look at the depth (or lack thereof) from the Commanders roster, and I truly wonder why they’re favored here, even in preseason. Preseason betting is all about finding the depth and who will have more battles going on, and regardless sof how many battles the Panthers have going on on their chart, they’ve still got the better players throughout the rotation down the line. I’ll side with the Panthers here.