The 2015-16 NFL-NFC Divisional Round will be played on Sunday the 17th of January 2016 with the 10-6 Seattle Seahawks (NFC-West) playing the 15-1 Carolina Panthers (NFC-North) with the game being played at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina with the kick-off scheduled for 1:10 PM ET and seen on FOX TV.
If you Bet on NFL football and at SBG Global then you are interested in the early odds for this playoff game as the Carolina Panthers are favorites at -3 EV and the Over/under is at 44 and the Panthers are -150 on the Money Line, while the underdog Seattle Seahawks are at +3 -120 and +130 on the ML.
The Seattle team’s hopes for another NFC Title were kept alive with their lucky win over the Vikings 10-9 this past Sunday as the Vikings FG kicker missed a last minute FG that would have won the game and sent the Seahawks packing. Now they play the top seeded team in the Panthers who are seeking to beat the Seahawks for the 2nd time.
If you are one of those avid fans of the Seattle Seahawks you saw you team in the final quarter comeback from a deficit of 9 points to take the lead 10-9 and then win the game as the Eagles FG kicker misses the winning FG 27 yarder with seconds left in the NFC Divisional game.
They came back in that game on the play of QB Russell tossing a TD pass to receiver D. Baldwin followed by a FG by S. Hauschka of 46 yards with 8 minutes left in the game. Yes that was a lucky day for your Seahawks as the Eagle FG kicker was overcome by the game pressure and kicked the ball wide to the left. Now they look at the prospects of their upcoming game with the 15-1 Carolina Panthers at their home field in Charlotte. The Seahawks in their ultimate 5 road game have won all 5.
But if Seattle is to upset the Panthers, their QB Russell who in the frozen Vikings game only completed 13 of his 26 passing attempts for a mere 140 yards, must have a better passing game as previously the averages some 237 yards passing each game in the 2015 season. He will need to find and connect to receivers J. Kearse, D. Baldwin and T. Lockett.
Receiver Baldwin had 1 TD in that game but only had 5 receptions against Minnesota, but remember in his ultimate 6 games he had 12 touchdowns and 528 reception yards. The other 2 in Kearse and Lockett for the season combined for 11 touchdowns and some 1,350 reception yards. Offensively the Seahawks star RB is still questionable for this game, and in his previous 10 playoff games he scored 9 touchdowns and rushed for 920 yards in those games.
The fans of the Carolina Panthers know there team at 15-1 have the best record this season in the NFL which allowed them a 1st round bye and home field advantage, and now are facing the lucky Seahawks who bet the Viking 10-9 in the Wild Card game.
The Panthers seem to have some ease in this game since they beat the Seahawks back in Week 6 at 27-23 and in that game the Panthers QB C. Newton passed for 270 yards, one pass being to WR G. Olsen for a 25 TD reception, but keep in mind QB Newton was intercepted 2 times in that game. In that game their RB J. Stewart had a good game as he scored 2 touchdowns on 20 carries for some 80 yards.
Presently RB Stewart has a sprained ankle and he is the team leader with 990 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns on the Season, and missed the Panthers ultimate 3 games due to that injury, and they hope he can make a comeback and be a game factor. If not then that changes the game plan for the Panthers, and they will have to use their rookie RB C. Payne and has got some experience replacing RB Stewart as in their ultimate 2 games he had 19 carries for 110 yards.
The Panthers passing game is one that the Seattle defense can not overlook, especially with the Carolina TE Olsen who in his 15 games this season he leads the team with 1,105 reception yards and 7 touchdowns, and in 3 games this season he has had 100 yards or more on receptions. But the Panthers need to remember that the Seahawks defense ranks 2nd in the league allowing the fewest total yards per game at 292 yard this season.
The sports betting prediction for this NFC Divisional Round playoff game will see the Carolina Panthers will overtake the Seattle Seahawks and win this game 27-23 and move on to the NFC Tilt game.