The Carolina Panthers won the NFC South at 7-8-1 last season, but they look completely unlike that team through six weeks of play in 2015. Ron Rivera's team is playing great defense, and despite a slew of injuries on the offensive side of the ball they're surviving there as well and remain one of the league's few unbeaten teams.
Eagles vs. Panthers 2015 picks and predictions: Experts favor undefeated Carolina
The Panthers are undefeated, and experts think they’ll remain that way when they face the Eagles on Sunday.
Carolina, 5-0, is on the verge of the franchise's first ever 6-0 start and they'll be playing a struggling Philadelphia Eagles team under the bright lights of Sunday Night Football in Week 7.
Philadelphia changed as much as or more than any other team in the league over the past couple seasons. Chip Kelly has certainly made his mark on the roster, but through six games, the Eagles sit at 3-3 with plenty of questions and few answers. The decision to go with Sam Bradford at quarterback after trading Nick Foles to the St. Louis Rams has yielded mixed results.
Bradford does often put the Eagles in a position to score, but his nine interception are tied for the second-most in the NFL. He threw three of those interceptions against the New York Giants in Week 6, but Philadelphia's defense picked up the slack and the Eagles still managed to win that game, 27-7. Bradford has completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 1,561 yards, nine touchdowns and nine interceptions this season.
Carolina's defense will be one of his toughest tests of the season. The Panthers rank fifth in the league in total defense, and No. 8 in the league against the pass. The Panthers allow just 18.8 points per game on average, good for seventh in the league. Rivera's defense, led by Luke Kuechly and Josh Norman, is playing very well and Bradford certainly will not be the toughest quarterback they have faced this year.
Looking at the list of undefeated teams -- the New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers -- the Panthers seem like the odd team out. But Cam Newton is playing well enough despite Greg Olsen being his top offensive weapon and things are clicking on both sides of the ball.
It shouldn’t be surprising that experts around the Internet are picking the Panthers to win the game. Over at CBS Sports, all eight of the experts picking are going with the Panthers, while 10 of the 12 experts with ESPN think they’ll win as well.
Here at SB Nation, there are a couple takers for the Eagles in Joel Thorman and Matt Ufford. The other five experts, along with the OddsShark computer, picked the Panthers to win it.
| Ryan Van Bibber | Stephen White | Joel Thorman | David Fucillo | Danny Kelly | Matt Ufford | PFT Commenter | OddsShark Computer | |
| PHI vs. CAR | CAR | CAR | PHI | CAR | CAR | PHI | CAR | CAR |
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