With the Carolina Panthers kicking their season off Sunday, it’s time to starts each game preview! Let’s do this with Carolina Panthers at the San Francisco 49ers! Panthers are 6-point favorites as of Tuesday afternoon. It will be the first time the Panthers will be back at Levi’s Stadium since losing Super Bowl 50. 49ers will look to extend their 6-game winning streak in season opening games; it’s the sixth time in head coach Ron Rivera’s 7 years that the Panthers have started on the road. Both teams did face off last year at Bank of America Stadium with the Panthers coming out on top, 46-27.
Coming off an unforgettable 2016 season, Carolina will try to re-establish themselves as one of the top teams in the NFC and make another trip to the Super Bowl. Quarterback Cam Newton is coming off shoulder surgery he had in March, only played in one preseason game but did look sharp. Newton has some new offense toys to play with in rookies Christian McCaffrey and Curtis Samuel. Returning starters with Pro Bowl tight-end Greg Olsen and wide-out Kelvin Benjamin. Defensively, expect the Panthers to be better than they were in 2016, where they were 26th in points allowed (25.1 points per game), front 7 should remain competitive (47 sacks, 2nd in the NFL) as led by linebackers Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis and last year leading pass-rusher Mario Addison (9.5).
With San Francisco, they're coming off a woeful 2-14 record last year, new head coach Kyle Shanahan, who formerly the offensive coordinator for NFC South foe Atlanta Falcons. Will try to turn it around for the 49ers. Journeyman quarterback Brian Hoyer, who threw for 237.6 yards per game in 2014 while he was in Cleveland and had Shanahan as his coordinator, was his best season of his career. Veteran receiver Pierre Garcon is in the same boat, as his career highs in receptions (113) and receiving yards (1,346) in 2013 courtesy of Shanahan’s pass-heavy offense. Running back who had 988 yards in 2016 is expected to have another good year as well. On the defense, 49ers were ranked dead-last in total yards but first-round picks Soloman Thomas and Reuben Foster are expected to help change that around.
This game will show if the Panthers secondary has improved this off-season or stayed the same because Kyle Shanahan offense is passing heavy and will exploit any weakness from the secondary. But I do believe the Panthers will win this game, Carolina has too many offensive weapons, Cam should be ready to go and well 49ers defense sucks. And riverboat Ron wants to start the season off with a win. My final score predictions are Panthers: 35 49ers: 21. What are your predictions for this upcoming Sunday game? What other NFL game are you looking forward to watching this weekend? Tell me in the comment section below! And make sure to check back here Friday for a news roundup for the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte and again Sunday night after the game for my post game recap and thoughts of the game!
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