Carolina Panthers @ Pittsburgh Steelers Thurs. Dec. 23^rd 2010 8:20pm EST

It would be hard to argue coming into Week 16 that the Carolina Panthers aren’t the worst team in the NFL this season. No matter what this team does or what changes they make, especially on the offensive side of the football, the Panthers just can’t play consistently well and as a result have only won two games on the year.

Fortunately, rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen and company will come into this week in Pittsburgh with a win under their belt as they were able to get the best of the Arizona Cardinals 19-14.Even though they were finally able to get on the winning side of things again, they will almost certainly get right back to their old ways as the lockdown defense of the Steelers will look to avenge last week’s loss with a dominant victory over the lowly Panthers. There is a huge spread on this NFL football betting matchup, and the way the Steelers are playing, we are not surprised.

With the Pittsburgh Steelers having the best run defense in the league giving up just about 64 yards on the ground per game and the Carolina Panthers almost solely depending on their running game to support their offense, this game could turn out to be a huge blowout as Mike Tomlin’s crew will look to make an example of this struggling franchise.

As of right now, the spread for this game is -13 in favor of the Pittsburgh Steelers and for good reason as I really can’t see the Carolina Panthers putting up much of a fight against this lockdown defense which is just about the best in the league up this point in the NFL regular season.

With this win the Pittsburgh Steelers will draw one step closer to winning the AFC North division title and the Carolina Panthers be closer to getting that number one overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Odds and lines for this matchup by leading sports betting sites:

Bookmaker Sportsbook:
Spread: Carolina Panthers +14 & Pittsburgh Steelers -14
Moneyline: Carolina Panthers +750 & Pittsburgh Steelers -1100
Over/Under: Carolina Panthers 110 over & Pittsburgh Steelers 110 under (37)

DSI Diamond Sportsbook:
Spread: Carolina Panthers +14 & Pittsburgh Steelers -14
Moneyline: Carolina Panthers +750 & Pittsburgh Steelers -1100
Over/Under: Carolina Panthers 110 over & Pittsburgh Steelers 110 under (37)

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