Thursday Night Football: Panthers-Bears betting preview (odds, lines, best bets) | NFL and NCAA Betting Picks

• QB Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers: Over 1.5 passing touchdowns & under 0.5 interceptions: Although Bryce Young has yet to really flash any serious upside, his elevated floor over the past month is far higher than anyone is willing to give him credit for.

• An intriguing narrative: There is a lot of negativity surrounding Young, but there does not appear to be any for Tyson Bagent. And yes, I understand that draft capital is the reason for that, but Bagent laying three points does not feel correct.

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Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

GAME OVERVIEW

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young put up arguably his worst performance of the season last week against the Indianapolis Colts, throwing two pick-sixes in a two-touchdown loss. As a result, people have been very quick to conclude that he is not good enough to be an NFL quarterback right now.

However, he had previously played solid albeit unspectacular football, which is perfectly acceptable for a first-year quarterback working with one of the weakest receiving groups and offensive lines in the league.

There are some injury concerns for both teams. Chicago Bears starting quarterback Justin Fields is officially doubtful, so it will likely be Tyson Bagent leading the team again, while linebacker Tremaine Edmunds is out again with a knee injury.

As for the Panthers, cornerback C.J. Henderson is out with a concussion, as is star pass-rusher Brian Burns.

QB Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers: Over 1.5 passing touchdowns (+210 Caesars) & under 0.5 interceptions (+112 FanDuel)

We’re betting this on the idea that the market has overreacted to a bad game.

Over the first two weeks of the season, Bryce Young recorded five turnover-worthy plays and averaged 4.2 yards per pass attempt. In Week 9, he recorded three turnover-worthy plays (all interceptions) and averaged 4.4 yards per attempt. But in the four games in between, he produced just two turnover-worthy plays, both of which came against the Lions.

It is easy to get carried away after one bad performance. And although Bryce Young has yet to really flash any serious upside, his elevated floor over the past month is far higher than anyone is willing to give him credit for.

There is a lot of negativity surrounding Young, but there does not appear to be any for Tyson Bagent. And yes, I understand that draft capital is the reason for that, but Bagent laying three points does not feel correct.

If you want to examine struggling quarterbacks, look no further than the current Bears signal-caller. Over the last three weeks, no player in the league has a higher percentage of turnover-worthy plays, even though Bagent has posted the league’s second-lowest average target depth. Worse yet, no one has a lower percentage of big-time throws.