San Francisco 49ers vs Carolina Panthers (10/9/22): Odds, Predictions, Depth Chart

The 49ers travel to the opposite coast this Sunday to take on the Carolina Panthers. The 49ers come off an important win versus a division rival to stay in the thick of the NFC West race as the Panthers drop to 1-3 and look like they’ll be in the market for a new head coach come January. Let’s check out who the matchups, injuries, and depth charts favor between these two NFC foes.

San Francisco 49ers Vs. Carolina Panthers Betting Odds

San Francisco 49ers Vs. Carolina Panthers Prediction

Despite trading for Baker Mayfield this past offseason, the Panthers have the worst offense in terms of yardage, putting up only 262 yards per game. After a disappointing 2021 season with OC Joe Brady and QB Sam Darnold leading their offense, the Panthers tried turning things around by picking up Mayfield, who seemed like the best available option. Though the Panthers have weapons offensively in RB Christian McCaffrey, WR D.J. Moore, and WR Robbie Anderson and defensively in Frankie Luvu, Jeremy Chinn, and Brian Burns, the team as a whole hasn’t played consistently on either side of the ball.

📺: FOX

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) October 2, 2022

Mayfield’s inconsistency has been a big part of the offensive inconsistency as he has thrown for under 50% completion in two games and only threw for over 200 yards once this season. Not exactly the upgrade that Panthers fans envisioned.

Meanwhile, the 49ers finally put together a complete game this past Monday. Offensively, they drove down the field and also created a few big plays while defensively they held the reigning super bowl champions to nine points on three field goals. The 49ers defense has excelled this season and ranks number one defense in points allowed and number two in rushing yards, passing yards, and total yards allowed. Safety Talanoa Hufanga has particularly emerged for the 49ers secondary. Drawing comparisons to Troy Polamalu, and not just for his hair, Hufanga came up with first career pick six. Check the video below to see his crucial 52 yard return of a Matthew Stafford interception, sealing away any chance at a Rams comeback.

TZZ UP FOR BIG HUF

First-career pick 6 for @TalanoaHufanga!

📺 #LARvsSF on @ESPNNFL pic.twitter.com/GmfWfvTjq6

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) October 4, 2022

Even coming off a short week, expect the 49ers to win and cover the spread. Look for the 49ers offense to continue gaining momentum after their win versus the Rams and for the defense to overwhelm Mayfield into making mistakes and limit his accuracy.

Prediction: 49ers 24-14, Under hits

Betting Trends

• 49ers are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 vs. NFC
• Panthers are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games following a ATS loss

Key Injuries

San Francisco 49ers Injuries: Colton McKivitz (Q), Arik Armstead (Q), Trent Williams (O)

Carolina Panthers Injuries: Stantley Thomas-Oliver (Q), Andrew Parchment (Q), Laviska Shenault Jr. (Q), Jeremy Chinn (Q), Duke Dawson (Q), Jacob Tuioti-Mariner (Q)

Key Matchups

Panthers Offensive Line vs 49ers Defensive Line

For the Panthers to pull off an upset, they will have to protect and block against one of the best defensive lines in the league. The 49ers defense is tied for the 2nd most sacks with 15 and DE Nick Bosa leads the NFL in sacks with 6 through 4 games. Though the Panthers worked to improve their offensive line by drafting Ikem Ekwonu and adding center Bradley Bozeman in free agency, Baker Mayfield is still one of the ten most sacked quarterbacks in the league. The 49ers sacked Matthew Stafford 7 times this past Monday, with 5/7 sacks causing at least an 8 yard loss. These kinds of sacks don’t only ruin plays, but kill drives, so the Panthers better have a good plan for blocking upfront.

49ers Run Game vs Panthers Defense

The 49ers under Kyle Shanahan have long been known for their run game and the Shanahan innovative run attack. Though an injury to RB Elijah Mitchell initially hurt the 49ers this season, the 49ers finally executed a good rushing game. The 49ers had both a 32 yard rush touchdown from Jeff Wilson Jf. along with a 57 yard tackle breaking catch and run from Deebo Samuel. Though Samuel’s touchdown was on a catch not run, the 49ers often use him in the backfield where he has shown the same tackle breaking ability like in the highlight below.

DEEBO WAS RUNNINNNNN @19problemz

📺 #LARvsSF on @ESPNNFL pic.twitter.com/ca842lL7ZJ

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) October 4, 2022

This matchup on paper certainly favors the 49ers as the Panthers have the 8th worst rushing defense, allowing 134 yards per game. However, the Panthers have been doing extra tackling drills during practice after missing 18 tackles versus the Giants in week one which hopefully help limit the 49ers gains.

San Francisco 49ers Depth Chart

QB: Jimmy Garoppolo
RB1:Marlon Mack
RB2: Jeff Wilson Jr.
LWR: Deebo Samuel
RWR: Brandon Aiyuk
SWR: Jauan Jennings
TE1: George Kittle

Carolina Panthers Depth Chart

QB: Baker Mayfield
RB1: Christian McCaffrey
RB2: D’Onta Foreman
LWR: D.J. Moore
RWR: Robbie Anderson
SWR: Shi Smith
TE1: Ian Thomas