Two days of tense joint practices will culminate in preseason football for the Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts, as the two teams meet to kickoff their August football schedule on Sunday afternoon.
Both teams will be eager to end their brief marriage with a win after scuffle-filled practices, but neither will be able to rely on the big names to do so. Carolina fans will wait a little longer to get their first look at new quarterback Sam Darnold, with Panthers starters sitting out, while Indianapolis' supporters endure another August of signal-caller uncertainty.
Will Indy cover a 1.5-point spread as the NFL betting favorites? Read on for our Panthers vs. Colts picks and predictions for August 15.
Panthers vs Colts game info
• Location: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
• Date: Sunday, August 15, 2021
• Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
• TV: NFL Network
Panthers vs Colts odds
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Panthers vs Colts betting preview
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Key injuries
Panthers: Sam Darnold QB (Out), Christian McCaffrey RB (Out), Matt Paradis C (Out), DJ Moore WR (Out), Robby Anderson WR (Out), Brian Burns EDGE (Out).
Colts: Carson Wentz QB (Out), Dayo Odeyingbo DE (Out), Eric Fisher OT (Out), JJ Nelson WR (Out), Rob Windsor DT (Out).
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Betting trend to know
The Panthers are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games as an underdog. Find more NFL betting trends for Panthers vs. Colts.
Against the spread (ATS) pick
Fight-filled practices between Indianapolis and Carolina this week will get the chance to be settled as the two meet, though both teams will be heavily depleted. Panthers head coach Matt Rhule has already ruled out the majority of his starters, while the Colts are sure to have a quick hook on the starters they send out.
Without Darnold or Carson Wentz in this one, we're absent any veterans at quarterback, with Carolina's Will Grier and his 52 career attempts the most experienced passer of the remaining bunch. It's the Panthers' other quarterback, however, that moves the needle.
P.J. Walker, who turned a charmed spell in the XFL into a job backing up Teddy Bridgewater last season — and started one game, throwing for 258 yards and a score with two picks in a win — will start for the Panthers here. Preseason football is a great platform for a QB like Walker, who can push the ball downfield and has the velocity to punish miscommunication in the secondary — a common occurrence in August — as well as pull it and escape the pocket when pressured. Walker has a few strong preseason games already under his belt and should add to that in 2021.
Countering Walker as Indianpolis' starter is second-year passer Jacob Eason. While Eason getting the first reps is a good opportunity for the sophomore QB, in some respects, it's a tough break. Eason's strengths — his raw physical tools and high-level arm strength — would be better served against Carolina's deep reserves. His inability to go through progressions or read a defense, meanwhile, will be amplified against however many starters the Panthers send out.
Rookie Sam Ehlinger has been turning heads in Colts camp and is expected to come in before the first half is finished, but the gap in quality between Walker and the rest of the quarterbacks in this one is massive. A hostile week between the Colts and Panthers ends with Carolina covering against the home favorites.
PREDICTION: Panthers +1.5 (-107)
Over/Under pick
One of the lowest totals of Week 1 of the preseason will be tested by Indianapolis and Carolina's second- and third-stringers on Sunday, with Rhule announcing his starters won't play while Carson Wentz remains sidelined for the Colts.
Walker's fit in preseason football has already been touched upon, and the number of drives he receives here will have implications on the total as he will show off genuine playmaking ability. Beyond that, however, it's bleak.
Replacing Walker will be another willing deep-ball passer in Will Grier, who made a pair of ugly starts in 2019 for Carolina and has not appeared in a regular season game since. If nothing else, Grier has the experience under center to avoid looking completely lost, but his arm talent is lacking even against preseason competition. Granted, his initial preseason came as a rookie two years ago, but Grier was awful in his previous August schedule, completing just over 50 percent of his passes with a grisly 6.3 yards per attempt.
It's unlikely to be much better for the home side, with the sophomore Eason to be followed by former Longhorn Sam Ehlinger. While Eason relies on intriguing physical traits, Ehlinger is the opposite. He won't blow the roof of Carolina's secondary, nor threaten to, but he should be able to methodically put together a few drives, especially as the Panthers' bench gets thinner and thinner.
Both teams will get their first live look at a handful of intriguing playmakers down the depth chart. For the Colts, that's second-year wideout Dezmon Patmon and rookie Michael Strachan, both of whom have great size and combine it with elite explosiveness (both tested above the 85th percentile in the broad jump). Patmon and Strachan have both turned heads regularly since the spring, as Indy looks to round out its wide receiver corps. Panthers UDFA CJ Saunders, meanwhile, has been impressing in a crowded receiver group in Carolina.
Aiding the Under effort, however, is that both teams will bring deep backfields into the preseason and we should see a healthy dose of carries on either side. Plus, while the Colts and Panthers boast creative coaching staffs on offense, both will be content to keep things vanilla as the preseason gets underway.
Walker is a playmaker who will succeed against the level of competition he'll face Sunday, but there's little reason to anticipate successful days on offense for either team beyond that. Take the Under.
PREDICTION: Under 34 (+101)
Panthers vs Colts betting card
- Panthers +1.5 (-107)
- Under 34 (+101)
Picks made on 8/14/2021 at 4:30 p.m. ET
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