The oddsmakers seem to think the Panthers will keep this game closer than I would have imagined. The spread has increased from 8.5 points earlier in the week, so it seems the early money agrees with me. From TopBet:
Sorry to be a downer and not much of a homer, but I can easily see the Panthers losing by 10 or more points to the 10-3 Packers. That is the conventional wisdom, right? Well, the reality is the Panthers tend to play well on the road (two of their four wins were on the road, after all).