The Pittsburgh Steelers will next play the Carolina Panthers on the road Sunday night and they’ve already been installed has three point underdogs to start the week.
The Panthers have started the 2014 season 2-0 and they have averaged 22 points in their wins over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions.
In their Sunday win over the Lions, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton made his 2014 regular season debut after being forced to sit out the game against the Buccaneers with a rib injury. The former first-round draft pick completed 22 of the 34 passes that he attempted for 281 yards and a touchdown to wide receiver Jason Avant.
Newton was, however, sacked four times in the game against the Lions and surprisingly three of those happened on first down plays.
While the Panthers only managed 62 yards rushing against the Lions, their offense did not turn the football over for a second straight game.
Defensively against the Lions, the Panthers forced three turnovers and sacked quarterback Matthew Stafford four times. They also held the Lions to 70 yards rushing on 18 carries.
The Panthers have been fairly disciplined when it comes to penalties in their first two games as they have only been flagged 10 times for 100 yards during their 2-0 start to the season.
As far as injuries for the Panthers go, backup running back Fozzy Whittaker was carted off with a knee injury against the Lions while fellow backup running back Mike Tolbert also had to leave the game briefly with an upper body injury.
