Here is my preview and best bet for the 2022 NFL Week 1 game between the Browns and Panthers.
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- Kickoff: Sunday, Sep. 11, 2022, 1 pm ET
- Location: Bank of America Stadium
- TV: CBS
Browns at Panthers: Consensus'Lines
- Spread: Panthers -2.5
- Over/Under: 41.5
- Moneyline: Panthers -135, Browns +115
Browns at Panthers: Betting Percentages
- Spread: Panthers – 80% bets, 98% money
- Over/Under: Under – 56% bets, 66% money
- Moneyline: Panthers – 80% bets, 81% money
Browns at Panthers: Key Injuries
Cleveland Browns Injuries
- QB Deshaun Watson (suspended)
- EDGE Stephen Weatherly (knee, IR)
Carolina Panthers Injuries
- QB Sam Darnold (ankle, IR)
- QB Matt Corral (foot, IR)
- K Zane Gonzalez (groin, IR)
- C Bradley Bozeman (ankle) – week to week
- WR Robbie Anderson (hamstring) – status unknown
- TE Ian Thomas (ribs) – week to week
Injury Analysis
The Browns are healthy and will miss no one of consequence in Week 1 … other than Watson. Of course, it’s no small thing to be without your starting quarterback.
The Panthers aren’t overwhelmingly wounded on offense, but they’re not intact. Without Darnold and Corral, the Panthers have elevated No. 4 QB P.J. Walker to backup. Without Gonzalez, the Panthers will rely on training camp journeyman Eddy Pineiro, who has just 36 field goal attempts in the NFL.
And new starting QB Baker Mayfield might find himself without his No. 1 center and Nos. 2 wide receiver and tight end, all of whom enter the year with some injury uncertainty.
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Browns at Panthers: Situational Spots
Cleveland Browns Situation
The Browns don’t have one situationally easy game after the Week 9 bye, with 6-of-9 away and three home games against the Buccaneers, Ravens and Saints. That means they’ll need to accrue wins early in the year. Fortunately for them, they have one of the softest opening months of any team (at Panthers, Jets, Steelers, at Falcons). They could enter Week 5 accompanied by a 4-0 record and the severe animus of 31 fanbases.
Carolina Panthers Situation
The Panthers play 4-of-5 at home to open the season — but those four games are against the Browns, Saints, Cardinals and 49ers … and then after that the Panthers play 3-of-4 away in what’s their toughest stretch of the season (at Rams, Buccaneers, at Falcons, at Bengals).
This is the only game in Weeks 1-9 in which the Panthers are clear favorites (in Week 8 they’re -1.5 favorites at DraftKings, +1 underdogs at Caesars in the lookahead market). If they don’t win their season opener, HC Matt Rhule has a non-zero chance to enter Week 10 with a league-worst 0-9 record … if he hasn’t already been fired.
Browns at Panthers: Notable Trends