Broncos at Panthers Week 14 Odds: Denver Opens as Underdogs

Despite it being a loss, the Denver Broncos are coming off one of their most impressive games of the season after taking the Super Bowl Champs down to the wire and making Patrick Mahomes look human. The NFL world has taken notice as the team's Week 14 spread is inching more towards the Broncos.

The line was at 3.5 in favor of the Carolina Panthers but it has now moved to -3 Panthers and could move more with news of Christian McCaffrey likely missing the game.

There is an element that makes this week a bit more complicated, though. The Panthers have seen a huge viral outbreak, causing them to put eight players on the COVID/Reserve list, including offensive playmakers D.J. Moore and Curtis Samuel.

The players who are not positive should have the time to get enough negative tests and be cleared to play. I would recommend keeping an eye throughout the weekend on whether more positive tests come back in Carolina as key players missing this game could swing it even more.

Here are the updated betting odds heading into this weekend according to SportsBetting.com.

ATS: Panthers -3

Over/Under: 45.5

Moneyline: Broncos +142/Panthers -161

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ATS: Carolina has lost six of their last seven games. Like the Broncos, the Panthers have struggled to consistently put up points on offense. McCaffrey has missed most of the season and was expected back this week, but a new injury occurred at practice on Wednesday and his status is very much up in the air.

Combine the missing McCaffrey with possibly Moore (the top receiver) and Samuel (third in receiving yards on the season for Carolina) and it could make life a little difficult for the Panthers to find offensive production. The Broncos continue to make things harder on themselves with mistakes that take points off the board so it is tough to project where things will go offensively in this one which could lead to to a closer, low-scoring game.

Over/Under: Again, the Panthers could be without some of their top playmakers. They have had an extra week to prepare coming off their bye (must be nice to get a true bye week) so the Panthers could mix in a few new wrinkles, making it important for the Broncos to not let them get any momentum early in the game.

This is likely to be a low-scoring output. Explosive plays for either team have been few and far between all year.

Moneyline: The Broncos sit at +142 on the moneyline bet. That means that a $100 bet placed on the Broncos would net the bettor $142 in winnings, if Denver is the victor. This might be the week to pull the trigger on the moneyline bet.

If Moore, Samuel, and McCaffrey end up missing this game, I'd expect the Broncos to walk out with a win. Denver has historically struggled in the 11 a.m. MDT slot, so bettors should factor that in when thinking of placing a wager.

On the other side, the Panthers sit at -161, meaning a $100 bet would net someone $62.11. From my recollection that is the highest return on the moneyline I've seen this year for a team favored over the Broncos, so it wouldn't be the worst bet to make if you believe Carolina will walk out of this game with a victory.

Bottom Line

There really is no easier game left on the schedule for the Broncos than this one. These are two pretty evenly matched teams that have shown very similar trends of being up-and-down on offense while putting together some decent defensive efforts that have come up short.

I expect the defenses to once again be front and center, leaving this game to be decided between which quarterback makes the fewest mistakes. If you're looking for what is the bet most experts are leaning towards in this one, look at the over/under. The number keeps dropping so it might be wise to lock in the under earlier rather than later.

Follow Carl on Twitter @CarlDumlerMHH and @MileHighHuddle.

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