Carolina Panthers

NFL odds: Seahawks out for revenge in prime time against vulnerable Panthers

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Seahawks saw their dream of playing in three consecutive Super Bowls end last year in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs with a 31–24 road loss to the Panthers as 2.5-point underdogs.

That was the Seahawks’ second loss to the Panthers that year, giving them even more motivation to put an end to their brief series skid in this week’s Sunday Night Football game as seven-point home betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

Seattle (7-3-1) and Carolina (4–7) are both coming off losses last week, with the latter’s playoff hopes on life support following an NFL-best 15–1 regular-season campaign a year ago. While the Seahawks still lead the NFC West by three games over the defending division champion Cardinals, the Panthers will likely need to win out if they want to make the postseason for the fourth straight year.

That seems like a long shot, especially considering Seattle had won the previous five meetings with Carolina prior to last season, going 3-1-1 against the spread, according to the OddsShark NFL Database.

That NFC matchup is definitely one of the most intriguing in Week 13, but there are a few other key games earlier in the day that bettors should be watching. One of them involves the Steelers (6–5), who have won two in a row over weak opponents since a four-game losing streak and face a big step up in competition when they host the Giants (8–3), winners of six straight.

The Giants are six-point underdogs, but they have covered three of the past four meetings and have reportedly been getting tips from Eli Manning’s brother Peyton this week on how to beat the Steelers.

Elsewhere, two AFC East teams chasing the division-leading Patriots (9–2) face tough road tests, as the Dolphins (7–4) and Bills (6–5) visit the Ravens (6–5) and Raiders (9–2), respectively.

Both Miami and Buffalo are getting some respect from oddsmakers as underdogs of just around a field goal apiece, but strong betting trends favor their foes instead. Baltimore is 5–1 SU and 6–0 ATS in the past six meetings with Miami, while Oakland has covered nine of 11 versus Buffalo.

And the Raiders are currently the No. 2 seed in the AFC behind the Patriots, who get a break this week in hosting the Rams (4–7) as 13.5-point betting favorites. New England has covered four of the previous five meetings but is 1-8-1 ATS in its last 10 Week 13 games, which is about the only thing going in favor of Los Angeles here.

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