Ben Solak predicted that James Conner could pace the NFL in rushing yards this week. The analyst highlighted Carolina’s alarming streak of seven straight games allowing 200-plus rushing yards and the loss of new DT Tershawn Wharton to a hamstring injury. Solak praised Arizona’s creative ground attack and forecasted a game script in which the Cardinals jump ahead early, giving Conner ample volume and garbage-time carries to post a monster fantasy line.

Will Hill bet Panthers team total Under 18.5. Carolina mustered only three points until garbage time last week, while Arizona’s rebuilt defense held New Orleans to 13. Hill expects the Cardinals to keep the Panthers under 19 in the desert.

Mock grabbed over 43.5 at -110 for Carolina-Arizona despite the Panthers’ ugly Week 1 showing. He is banking on seeing "second-half-of-2024 Bryce Young" this weekend and notes that Carolina’s defense is bad enough to let Arizona dictate a quicker tempo. With the Cardinals setting the pace and any semblance of competence from Young, his model lands the game in the mid-40s. He would not chase a number higher than 43.5 at the same vig.

Dabbundo is willing to lay Cardinals -6.5 at home because the matchup is tailor-made for Arizona’s ground game. The Cards finished 2024 ranked seventh in EPA per rush and now face a Carolina front that has been dead last versus the run since the start of 2024. Jacksonville just gashed the Panthers for 200 yards on 32 carries (6.3 YPC) and Carolina lost DT Tershawn Wharton to a hamstring injury. The Panthers generated the 31st-best pass-rush win rate and 27th run-stop win rate in Week 1, meaning Arizona should control the trench on both downs. If Bryce Young is forced into pass-heavy script with a thin skill group, Dabbundo sees blow-out potential—making the Cardinals worth the full touchdown lay despite last week’s shaky performance.

MacMillan grabbed Carolina +6.5 (–105, BetMGM), arguing Arizona shouldn’t be laying nearly a touchdown after barely scraping by the league’s worst team. He admits the Panthers under-performed expectations in Week 1 but believes Bryce Young and the offense can rebound enough to stay within one score against an unimpressive Cardinals squad.