BetUS $500 Match Bonus
Sign up for a new account with BetUS and deposit $500 or more to get a $500 match bonus!

$20 Free Play at Sportsbook.com
Your first bet is free when you open a new account at sportsbook.com!

Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers Week 4 NFL Predictions

Written September 24, 2008 by Jack Jones

The Carolina Panthers will try to rebound from their first loss of the season this week when they play host to the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta has gotten off to a surprising, quick start this year, while Carolinais disappointed the return of Steve Smith to the receiving corps didn’t provide an offensive boost in Week 3. The experts think this week will be different, as BetUS shows the Panthers as 7-point favorites over the Falcons with a total set at 39.5.

Carolina’s offense had looked alright when they won their first two games, but the Panthers were held to just 204 yards against Minnesota last week. Some of the problems might be attributed to quarterback Jake Delhomme and Smith being out of sync with one another. Delhomme missed most of last season and Smith was suspended for the first two games of this year, so it had been almost a year since the two had been on the field together in a regular season NFL contest.

Delhomme hit Smith on Carolina’s first play for a 16-yard gain, but Smith only had four catches for 70 yards on the day. Delhomme finished 17-for-29 and 191 yards, but he still has only one touchdown on the year. He was expected to do more last week with the Viking run defense being so tough. Minnesota held DeAngelo Williams to 27 yards on 10 carries. That could have been expected even though Williams had 117 yards on 29 totes in the first two games. Jonathan Stewart ran for only 15 yards on seven attempts to give him 145 yards on the year with 31 carries.

Get a 50% Signup Bonus at BetUS!

The Achilles heel of this Panther team last Sunday was penalties. Carolina had 12 against the Vikings and are leading the league with 28 so far.

Carolina has a chance to break things open here in the first half of the season with five of their next seven games at home, including games against Kansas City, Detroit, and Oakland. If you think they start out by taking advantage of Atlanta, bet the Panthers -7 at BetUS and get up to 135% in signup bonuses.

Atlanta is sitting at 2-1 and a big part of their early season success has in getting to face two of the worst teams in the league, the Chiefs and the Lions, at home. The Falcons sole loss came against a quality opponent in Tampa Bay, 24-9, two weeks ago. Last week they got back on track though with a 38-14 victory over Kansas City.

Michael Turner keeps impressing and against the Chiefs he had 104 yards and three touchdowns. In the opener against the Lions he set a franchise record with 220 rushing yards and now has season totals of 366 yards and five scores.

If the Panthers want to win this game, then they will need to stop Turner and force rookie quarterback Matt Ryan to beat them. Ryan was able to coast against the Chiefs, completing 12-of-18 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown. When Tampa Bay forced the Falcons to air it out though, Ryan wasn’t as efficient, going 13-for-33 and throwing two picks in the loss. If you want to bet on the Falcons +7, do it using your debit or credit card at BetUS!

Score Prediction: Panthers 24, Falcons 17

Pick up more NFL betting picks from our handicappers this weekend and win more with your NFL football betting. Even if you are picking out your own games to wager on, our NFL betting odds will show you where you can find the best line.