Thursday Night Football picks and prop bets: it's the Panthers' game to lose

Texans-Panthers always reeked of “Thursday Night Football.” Houston came into 2021 with a new head coach, new quarterback, and 30 (THIRTY!) new free agents, the most expensive of which was a punter. Carolina’s biggest move after a five-win season was a prayer it had enough lightning to bring Sam Darnold back to life, Frankenstein-style.

And somehow, through six quarters of football to start the season, this began to look like a good matchup. Tyrod Taylor looked like the Pro Bowl quarterback he once was, beating the Jaguars convincingly and leading two quarters into a showdown with the Browns. The Panthers, led by a rejuvenated Darnold, handled their business against the Jets before stopping Jameis Winston’s hype train in its tracks in a rout over the Saints.

While the sun continues to rise in Charlotte, a storm settled over Houston. Taylor suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out for at least three weeks. The Texans defense eventually crumbled under Cleveland’s onslaught, even getting stiff-armed by Baker Mayfield’s bad shoulder. The bottom is threatening to fall out in Texas. Thursday night may be the moment we realize the reactor is offline and meltdown is imminent.

Panthers, on the road, facing a rookie quarterback no one expected to start this early, are 8.5-point favorites. Their defense has put the Luke Kuechly era firmly in its rear view and rebuilt itself into one of the youngest and most explosive units in the NFL. Beating the Texans wouldn’t send much of a message to the rest of the NFC; dismantling them would.