Washington at Carolina

The Panthers bye came at an opportune time after starting the season 0-3. They could certainly use the extra week. But will it help? The fact is, Carolina is simply a bad team and now they are laying more than a field goal. The Redskins, at 2-2, look to improve a sputtering offense that is moving the ball well, but not generating points. What is lost in the Redskins-bashing is how well their defense is playing. This team is ranked 4th in the NFL in points allowed. Getting more than a field goal on a defense that good has to grab your attention. But what about their horrible offense? They have yet to score more than 17 points in a game, but it may not be as bad as it looks. Their offense has been generating exactly what it should vs. the defenses it has faced. What appears to be a below average offense has performed on par. Their yards per play is quite good (5.7) and it matches what their opponents have allowed on average. The issue of course has been scoring, and I expect them to find a way vs. Carolina. The Panthers may soon have to address the Jake Delhomme situation as he has had his confidence shattered and it shows. What appeared to be a few fluky games has all of a sudden turned into a pattern. He has fumbled the ball as if it were coated in grease and, going back to their playoff debacle last year, he has now tossed just 3 TD passes vs. 12 INTs! No team is going to overcome that. You can bet the Skins will run the ball often against a Panthers defense allowing a not-so-flattering 182.7 yards per game. Delhomme simply can't be trusted and Carolina has faults in every area. They can't get the running game going, can't stop the run, and have a QB that is mentally beaten right now. The Panthers are 7-17 ATS under John Fox as a home favorite of 3.5 to 7 points and 8-17 ATS after back-to-back losses. One of these teams is allowing nearly 2x as many points per game as the other and the dog has the better defense and the better team. I'm going with Washington in this one.