There were always going to be plenty of rushing attempts on Thursday Night Football this week, and now we’ve added a hurricane to the mix.
I’ve made my prediction for this scintillating Panthers-Falcons matchup.
Here are three prop bets I like, keeping in mind the conditions:
Cordarrelle Patterson over 7.5 receiving yards (-115 at DraftKings)
Marcus Mariota is only projected to throw for 157.5 yards in this game due to a combination of the Atlanta offensive philosophy and the weather . Even so, this looks like a strong play because Patterson could easily surpass this figure with only one reception.
His receiving numbers are way down this season, with only five catches for 37 yards in five games. Even so, he has reached eight receiving yards in three of the five contests, and had 52 catches for 548 yards just a season ago.
Patterson only played in 39% of the offensive snaps last week in his return from a knee injury, and even though this game is on short rest, he should play more in this one.
Beyond all of this, Patterson is a former wide receiver! My guy can assuredly get eight yards.
Panthers RB D’Onta Foreman over 12.5 rush attempts (-114 at FanDuel)
Carolina got smoked by the Bengals last time out, which limited Foreman to only seven rushing attempts. However, in the two previous games, he combined for 41 carries.
With Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco, Foreman is now the clear-cut bellcow back for the Panthers. Carolina didn’t want to throw it a lot any way, and once you add in the potential for wind and rain, it’s clear this will be a ground showdown.
The Panthers are only field goal underdogs, so as long as this game stays close for much of the contest, I’m confident in Foreman hitting the over.
Falcons TE Kyle Pitts over 37.5 receiving yards (-110 at FanDuel)
We have sufficiently reached buy-low territory for Pitts, the uber-talented tight end who has not had a big impact this season. Even though the Falcons won’t be throwing the ball a bunch in this game, Pitts is likely to be the main option for Mariota.
Pitts only had two catches for 27 yards last week against the Chargers, but he was targeted seven times. Two weeks ago, he had five catches for 80 yards against these Panthers.
Despite all of the struggles, Pitts is still averaging 35 receiving yards per game this season, and averaged 60 as a rookie. He’s so talented that I’m going to err on the side of trusting him to make the most of his chances and get to 38 yards in this matchup.
Last week’s props bets record: 9-3
Overall: 51-41
