The Panthers' defense ranks No. 1 in the NFL for several stats like points allowed and yards allowed per play. Offensively, Carolina has kept running back Christian McCaffrey busy, but he played in only three games last season because of injuries so playing on short rest could prove difficult.

As for Houston's offense, QB Tyrod Taylor has suffered a rib injury and rookie Davis Mills, who started just 11 games in his final two seasons at Stanford, will replace. I expect this to be an even lower scoring affair than the total the books have posted.

8* play on UNDER.