Panthers get insulting opening odds for Week 7 game against winless Jets

The Carolina Panthers are on a bit of a roll. They've won three out of four and two in a row with consecutive clutch wins over the Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys. The New York Jets, next week's opponents, are decidedly not.

The Jets are coming off a game in which they scored 11 points and had 82 yards of total offense. They're winless, and worse, they're utterly hapless. Yet, somehow, DraftKings believes the Jets should actually beat the 3-3 Panthers this week.

Odds for Jets-Panthers are stunning

Oct 5, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) hands off the ball to Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (5) during the fourth quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

Maybe the Jets are a little better than their 0-6 record indicates. After all, they barely lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos, two 2024 playoff teams. Maybe the Panthers are worse than their 3-3 record indicates, although one could argue that they should be 4-2 at this point.

Nevertheless, it is absolutely mindboggling to see that DraftKings has the Panthers as underdogs this week. The initial odds had Carolina at +100 to win, with the Jets sitting at -120. Those have since shifted to -102 for the Panthers and -118 for the Jets, but the Jets are still favored.

The spread is pretty thin, though. If the Jets do pull this off, Vegas seems to believe it'll be by very few points. The Jets are -1.5, which is -105, and the Panthers are +1.5, which is -115. So in that sense, the oddsmakers do think Carolina will make it close.

The over/under is 43.5, which makes sense with two offenses that are not exactly high-powered. But with two bad defenses, a high score might actually happen. The over is -105, and the under is -115.

None of this makes any sense. Yes, the Panthers are on the road, where they've struggled with Bryce Young. They're 3-0 at home this year and 0-3 on the road, but this is the winless Jets we're talking about. They are currently the worst team in the NFL.

The Panthers are not a great team by any means, but they're playing great football. Does anyone think the Jets will be able to slow down Rico Dowdle? Not likely. The Panthers have shown they can play clean football with a dominant run game and get enough stops. That should be more than enough.

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