Carolina Panthers

2005 Stats

2005 Season Summary

After their incredible Super Bowl season of 2003 in which they went right down to the wire before losing to New England , the Carolina Panthers under head coach John Fox were considered to be a team that would be heard from for years to come. Incredibly enough, however, they fell flat on their face out of the gate to start 2004 with a record of 1-7 SU before rallying to win 6 of their last 8 games, covering 7 of those to retain respectability entering 2005. Due to a weak NFC field, the Panthers actually had a shot at the wild card in the season's final game at home against New Orleans but, with seemingly the entire world backing them on the betting boards, the lost 18-21 as 7.5-point chalks. (Ever notice how that always seems to happen?)

Panthers expected to return to playoff form in 2005

Still, word was that an incredible amount of injuries was the culprit for the Panthers 2004 woes and that they would be a team likely to be back into contention for 2005.

Carolina was a sparkling 10-2 ATS in their previous three preseasons under Fox and it stood to figure that they would want to maintain something close to that performance in order to build up positive momentum for the regular season.

The exhibition opener was at home against the Washington Redskins, who had proven to be a subpar play ATS in previous road preseason games through the years and Carolina prevailed 28-10 as 3.5-point chalks.

Next was an exhibition road trip to the Meadowlands against the New York Giants, who were a traditionally poor team ATS in preseason play. The Giants, however, were coming off a loss and figured to have a bit more of an edge than is normally the case in preseason and, as 3-point home dogs, New York got the cash in a 27-21 SU win.

Carolina next traveled to Cleveland and was installed as an expensive 5.5-point chalk against a Browns team that was over 60% ATS in home preseason action since 2000. Cleveland proved to be an outstanding bargain and covered with those extra points despite losing 23-20.

The exhibition finale was at home against Pittsburgh . Carolina entered this game having dropped 6 of their last 10 ATS as preseason chalks, a sure fire warning sign for gamblers to not step out too far, and sure enough Pittsburgh prevailed 21-17 as Carolina 's preseason record slipped to 2-2 SU and 1-3 ATS.

Season starts off in alarming fashion

The regular season began for the Panthers at home against a New Orleans Saints team that was rendered homeless due to Hurricane Katrina. After stumbling out of the gate so badly in 2004 many figured that the Panthers would be extra ready and prepared to get off to a good start. And the Saints situation seemed to play right into Carolina 's hands. Carolina was one of the most highly touted plays of that first NFL Sunday as a hefty 7-point home chalk and, incredibly, lost 20-23 to start off the season in alarming 0-1 fashion, burning a lot of gambler's bankrolls in the process.

Immediate increase in value

As is often times the case, many gamblers soured on the Panthers after that first game of the season, which served to increase their value as they prepared to host defending champion New England in a rematch of the 2003-04 season Super Bowl. Carolina found themselves going from a significant and highly bet chalk to an unwanted 3-point home dog against the Pats. Yet those in the know realized that the Panthers were a live dog, having covered 15 of their previous 17 regular season games as pups. Carolina bit yet again as the dog withy a nice 27-17 win to even their record at 1-1 and at least cool off the panic attacks of their fans.

And yet just as many started to believe that things would be OK in Carolina , the Panthers went right back into the tank. Traveling to rebuilding Miami , Carolina was installed as a 3-point chalk and was upset 24-27 which immediately fanned the flames of panic yet again, and caused even some seasoned pro football bettors to really step back and wonder if the Panthers were an overrated fraud.

Next came a do or die must win Monday Night home game against the Green Bay Packers, who were off to their traditional slow start at 0-3 but still considered dangerous as they had won SU at Carolina in the 2004 season opener on Monday Night Football. The Panthers were considered by many to be an expensive 7-point home chalk and ended up allowing Green Bay to slip through the back door in a 32-29 SU Panther win. Carolina evened their record at 2-2 SU but was 1-3 ATS.

The Panthers faced a pair of road games before their bye. First, at struggling Arizona , Carolina prevailed 24-20 as 2.5-point chalks. Next at Detroit , against another struggling team in the Lions, the Panthers were again 2.5-point chalks but barely escaped with a 21-20 SU win, as the Lions got the cash. Carolina was 4-2 SU and 2-4 ATS entering the bye week.

Roaring after the bye with favorable schedule

The Panthers came out roaring after the bye as they continued to take advantage of a most favorable schedule in which they were catching struggling teams at just the right time. The scandal ridden Minnesota Vikings came calling and Carolina pounded them 38-13 as 7-point home chalks.

Gamblers trapped by “logic”

Next came a division showdown at Tampa Bay against the improving Bucs. Carolina was a 1-point dog and it appeared as if the home standing Bucs were a bargain. Many gamblers ended up trapped by such “logic” as Carolina prevailed 34-14. Only 1 of Carolina 's 8 games had gone under so far and the oddsmakers were about to make adjustments to that trend.

Next was a home game against the struggling New York Jets that Carolina took 30-3 as 8.5-point chalks. Carolina had proven to be a good team this far in 2005 against struggling opponents and this trend continued to hold firm, boosting the confidence of many gamblers.

Next, however, was a game at Chicago against the ascending Bears, who won 13-3 as 3-point home dogs. But another struggling team appeared next at Buffalo in the Bills and Carolina once again took full advantage of the schedule with a 13-9 win as 3.5-point chalks.

Panthers burn cash as poor value

Atlanta came calling in a huge divisional showdown. The Panthers were 3-point chalks and won 24-6 posting their fourth straight under. With many gamblers now believing in them, Carolina burned their cash with a weak 10-20 home loss to Tampa as inflated 6.5-point chalks. This was a situation in which the line was proven to be artificially high as it was based on Carolina winning at Tampa previously and also on Carolina winning against an easy schedule. Tampa was a quality team and an excellent bargain value. The Panthers won and covered 2 of their final 3 games to finish 11-5 SU and 9-7 ATS. Carolina went under in games 9-14 as the oddsmakers took away the early over value. The Panthers were a 7-7-2 split on totals.

Despite having to play on the road in the playoffs Carolina proved that their previous experience counted as they won and covered at the playoff-green Giants and Bears before failing at #1 seed Seattle .