Thursday Night
Carolina at Pittsburgh
This is an intriguing offensive matchup. Both teams know how to pile up the yards and the points. Pittsburgh always seems to have an outstanding contingent of receiving options, and James Conner has proven to be more than adequate as a replacement for Le'Veon Bell at RB. The Carolina offence really seems to be hitting its stride, as Cam Newton is always a threat to take over a game, yet with the complementary pieces he has on offence now (particularly Christian McCaffrey and Greg Olsen), Newton can be more creative and less forced.
Watching Pittsburgh play Baltimore on Sunday, I was struck by the fact that there are easily a dozen or more QBs in the league who could have had Pittsburgh in a serious hole in the first half, but instead I was watched as Joe Flacco squandered numerous good opportunities, which took a lot of pressure off Pittsburgh's offence. Cam Newton and the Carolina offence won't hesitate to capitalize on the opportunities that Pittsburgh's defence will most certainly allow. Sure, Pittsburgh's offence will answer back, but ultimately, I think that Carolina's defence will be the deciding factor in this contest by making enough crucial plays to swing the advantage Carolina's way.
Winner: Carolina
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