The Carolina Panthers are in an unfamiliar position this week: Betting favorites.
Sports books have the Panthers as either 1-point or 1.5-point favorites over the Cowboys on Sunday, making it the first time in two years that the Panthers have been favored.
The last time the Panthers were favored was December 18, 2022, against the Steelers. The Panthers were 2.5-point favorites that day, but the Steelers won 24-16.
But recently, the Panthers have been playing much better football, and they’ve covered the spread in their last five games. That, combined with the disappointing season the Cowboys are having, has made the Panthers favorites at home.
If the Panthers win by two points or more, they’ll do something they haven’t done in almost four seasons: Covered a spread as favorites. The last time the Panthers did that was September 23, 2021, when they were 9-point favorites over the Texans and won 24-9.