After the 2024 NFL schedule was released last week, it didn't take much time for the oddsmakers to go through and set a point spread for all 272 games on the slate. And if those point spreads are any indication, there are two teams that might not be that good this year. Those two teams are the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers.
Of the NFL's 32 teams, the Patriots and Panthers are the only two that are not favored to win A SINGLE GAME this year, according to the point spreads from Draft Kings sportsbook.
Let's take a look at what the point spread will be for each game this season involving New England and Carolina:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
- Bengals at Panthers (+5)
- Patriots (+11.5) at 49ers
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
- Panthers (+3) at Commanders
- Patriots (+6.5) at Jaguars in London
Week 8
- Panthers (+2.5) at Broncos
- Jets at Patriots (+4.5)
Week 9
- Saints at Panthers (+1)
- Patriots at Titans (+2.5)
Week 10
- Giants at Panthers (+1) in Germany
- Patriots (+5.5) at Bears
Week 11
- Rams at Patriots (+4)
Week 12
- Chiefs at Panthers (+7)
- Patriots (+7.5) at Dolphins
Week 13
- Buccaneers at Panthers (+2)
- Colts at Patriots (+2)
Week 14
- Panthers (+7.5) at Eagles
Week 15
Week 16
- Cardinals at Panthers (+1)
- Patriots (+8.5) at Bills
Week 17
- Panthers (+5) at Buccaneers
- Chargers at Patriots (+2.5)
Week 18
- Panthers (+6.5) at Falcons
- Bills at Patriots (+3.5)
The Panthers' biggest game as an underdog will come in Week 14 when they travel to Philadelphia, where the Eagles are currently favored by 7.5 points. As for the Patriots, their numbers are actually uglier. For one, the Patriots are currently an 11.5-point underdog to the 49ers for a Week 4 game that will be played in San Francisco. Also, the Patriots are a 9-point underdog to the Bengals in Week 1, which makes New England the biggest underdog out of any team in the NFL for the opening week of the season.
There are three games where the Panthers are an underdog of just one point, so it's certainly possible that they could end up being favored in one of those games. As for the Patriots, their smallest point spread will come in Week 13, when they'll be a 2-point home underdog to the Indianapolis Colts.
The fact that the Patriots and Panthers aren't favored to win any games isn't all that surprising. Both teams will be going into the season with a new head coach (Carolina has Dave Canales while New England hired Jerod Mayo). Also, both teams have some huge question marks at quarterback. The Patriots are hoping that rookie Drake Maye will solve all of their QB problems while the Panthers are hoping that Bryce Young can take a huge step forward in 2024, which will be his second year in the league.
The NFL clearly doesn't seem to have high expectations for the Panthers, and we know that because Carolina is the only team in the league that didn't get a single prime-time game this year.
Panthers HC Dave Canales was asked for his reaction to Carolina being the only NFL team withouta primetime game. "You've got to earn it. You've got to earn primetime games."
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) May 20, 2024
He thinks some players might be motivated by primetime snub, but he's not a negative motivator. pic.twitter.com/j0CjAck6oW
As for the Patriots, they were given one night game, which will come against the Jets on a Thursday night in Week 3.
Both teams have also been given an over/under win total of just 4.5 games. If you want to know whether the Patriots will go over or under that number, you can check out Will Brinson's breakdown of New England's total here.
