3 Bold Predictions for Panthers in Crucial Battle With Lions

I'm not going to sit here and pretend I feel great about the Panthers' chances Sunday night. Detroit is really good, Carolina is beat up, and after three games, I still don't know which version of this team is going to show up.

Maybe that's why this feels like a good week for some bold predictions. I'm not talking about Tetairoa McMillan catching five passes or Aidan Hutchinson getting pressure on Bryce Young. We don't need a bold predictions article for that.

So I'm going a little further with these.

1. Chuba Hubbard Finally Breaks 100 Yards

I feel like I've spent half the week asking Carolina to give Chuba Hubbard the ball more. At this point, I might as well stick with it and predict he finally gets his first 100-yard game of the season.

Hubbard has 184 rushing yards through three games, including 82 last week against Cleveland. That's not bad, but I still don't think Carolina has really leaned on him the way I expected coming into the season.

Maybe Sunday is finally the day. There's rain in the forecast, Detroit can get after the quarterback, and I really don't need to see Bryce Young drop back 48 times again after he was pressured on 51 percent of his dropbacks against Cleveland.

Just give Hubbard a chance to get going.

That's really all I'm asking. Don't give him eight or nine carries, fall behind by a touchdown and decide it's time to throw the ball every play. Stay with him for a while and see if he can make Detroit deal with the running game.

I'm going with 105 yards for Hubbard. And if Carolina does get that kind of night from him, it should make my second prediction a little easier.

2. Bryce Young Throws Three Touchdowns Without an Interception

I went back and forth on this one. Part of me looks at Carolina's offensive line, sees Aidan Hutchinson on the other side, and wonders why I'm doing this to myself.

But I keep coming back to how Young has played through three games. He's thrown for 939 yards and seven touchdowns, and outside of that interception at the end against Cleveland, I think he's played pretty well.

The bigger thing for me Sunday night is finishing drives. Carolina moved the ball against Cleveland and still ended up kicking four field goals. I like Ryan Fitzgerald, but if I'm seeing him every time Carolina crosses the 30-yard line against Detroit, this is probably going to be a long night.

So I'm going three touchdowns and no interceptions for Bryce. Is that asking a lot against this Detroit defense? Probably. But if Carolina is going to have a chance late in the fourth quarter, I think that's about the kind of game it's going to need from him.

And speaking of asking a lot, let's get to the one I'm probably going to regret the most.

3. Carolina Gives Jared Goff His First Interception

I know what the secondary looks like right now. Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson are both on injured reserve, and Jared Goff comes into Charlotte with eight touchdown passes and hasn't thrown an interception.

So yeah, this makes perfect sense.

I don't even know who I'm picking to get it. Maybe Will Lee III makes me look stupid for worrying so much about him this week. Maybe Akayleb Evans gets one, or maybe somebody gets a hand on a pass and the ball just happens to fall Carolina's way.

I just have a feeling the Panthers get one. That's not exactly breaking down the All-22, I know, but these are predictions. Sometimes you just get a feeling about something.

Carolina could use one of those plays, too. With Horn and Jackson out, I'm not expecting this secondary to suddenly shut Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown down for four quarters. At some point, somebody is probably going to have to make a play that changes a possession.

Why not an interception?

How Many Am I Actually Getting Right?

Now, if you're asking whether I really think all three of these happen, I'm not going that far. If they were all likely to happen, I probably couldn't call them bold predictions.

But I don't think any of them are ridiculous. Hubbard can run for 100 yards, Bryce has already thrown three touchdowns in a game this season, and eventually somebody is going to intercept Goff.

I'm just picking Sunday night for all three.

And if I'm sitting here after the game having gotten all three right, there's a pretty good chance we're talking about something I don't think many people are expecting right now.

A Panthers win.

Add us as a preferred source on Google