Monday Night Football Preview - Week 11 - New England vs Carolina

Tonight we have the New England Patriots taking on the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC. Both teams come into this game after impressive wins, Carolina topped the 49ers in San Francisco for a 10-9 victory, while the Patriots are coming off a bye week after their highest point total of the season thus far with a 55-31 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers two weeks ago.

The Panther's are on a 5 game winning streak with their last loss coming in Arizona way back in Week 5 (Panther's started 1-3). The Panther's have outscored their opponents 140-57 during their 5 game winning streak. The Patriots are on a 2 game winning streak with their last loss coming in OT to division rival New York Jets in Week 7. This game will be a great test for both teams as both QB's have thrown for 13 TD's on the season, but they will be facing some great defenses. The Panther's have allowed an NFC best 9 TD's on the season and will have their hands full when Tom Brady comes to town who has not lost to Carolina since the 2005 season (Tom Brady's only loss to Carolina). LB Luke Keuchly, who won defensive player of the week last week after his 11 tackle game against the 49ers, will be up for the challenge saying, "Tom Brady is a very cerebral guy, he's been around a while, he knows where he's going with the ball, he's smart, he understands defenses," Kuechly said. "So we've just got to do a good job of playing our job, doing our responsibilities and make sure we're in the right spot."

The main key for the Panther's will be to continue their defensive lineman dominance, allowing an avg of 82 yds per game rushing (2nd in the league), and stop Patriots RB Stevan Ridley who has rushed 6 TD's in his last 4 games. Tom Brady will do his thing and there is not much you can do to stop it, you can only hope to slow him down and that comes with keeping your drives alive. QB Cam Newton will need to take advantage of the Patriots defense that is giving up about 128 yards rushing (29th in the league), and if he can do that then the Panther's will walk out of this one with a huge win.

The main key for the Patriots will be to protect Tom Brady and establish the run. Brady has tallied 548 yards and 5 TD's in his previous 2 games with 1 INT and if he has the time to work behind his O-line tonight, he should be able to pull away from the Panthers. Also Tom Brady is 13-4 on Monday Night Football and streaks like that are usually because of talent. Brady should be a safe bet, but I'm going to have to bet against him tonight.

My Prediction:

CAR over NE 20-16

My prediction is going off a home field advantage and with the way the Panthers' have been playing as of late. This is going to be a great game and a great showing for two teams hoping to win their division and take their teams to the playoffs. Not a Super Bowl preview in my eyes but it is a Super Bowl XXXVIII rematch that we can all enjoy in.

If you enjoyed this you may like some of my other posts, check out my most recent "NFL Week 11 Mayhem 2013"  for a recap of all the other games from Week 11 in the NFL.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed and be sure to pass this along to all your NFL Fans so they might have a different insight to the game tonight. Check back often for more Sports News & Analysis as well as some Fantasy Football Advice.