The Carolina Panthers will find themselves in a difficult position when hosting the Buffalo Bills in Week 8 on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Buffalo would be a tough matchup any week, but coming off back-to-back losses with two weeks to sit on the results and prepare for their next contest could make it even more challenging, as the Bills had their bye week last week. However, the Panthers entering this matchup with the same number of wins as the Bills is something few people expected, with the Bills at 4-2 and the Panthers at 4-3 this season. The Bills are 7.5-point favorites in the latest Week 8 NFL odds at FanDuel, and the SportsLine model projects the Bills to cover that number as a part of its best bets to build a Bills vs. Panthers same-game parlay at FanDuel. The model expects both offenses to find success, playing Over 46.5 total points and Panthers Over 19.5 team points in its Bills vs. Panthers SGP at FanDuel for a payout of +550.
The model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is up well over $7,000 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception. The model is on a sizzling 43-28 run on top-rated picks dating back to 2024. Anybody following its NFL betting picks at sportsbooks and on betting sites could have seen strong returns.
Best Bills vs. Panthers SGP at FanDuel (odds subject to change):
Combining the model's three picks into a Panthers vs. Bills SGP at FanDuel Sportsbook would result in a payout of +550 (risk $100 to win $550):
Although the Bills are coming off back-to-back losses, they were among the Super Bowl favorites entering the 2025 NFL season, and it's hard to imagine this team's losing skid staying for long. Led by a balanced offense with the quarterbacking of Josh Allen and the rushing ability of James Cook, the Bills have the No. 4 scoring offense at 27.8 points per game in the NFL this season on the third-most yards (378.3 per game). Cook is second in the NFL at 89.5 rushing yards per game, as the Bills have the No. 1 rushing offense at 151 yards per game this season. Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (ankle) is expected to miss Sunday, leading to veteran Andy Dalton making his first start of the season at age 37. The Bills have the rest advantage coming off a bye and the bad taste of back-to-back losses lingering throughout their bye week, as the model projects the Bills to pull out an eight-point victory on Sunday.
The Panthers have won three straight games, and although they'll likely be without their starting quarterback from each of those three games, Dalton should be capable enough to lead Carolina to its share of points to help hit the Over on Sunday. Dalton completed 4 of 7 passes for 60 yards in relief in the fourth quarter of a 13-6 win over the Jets last week, including a 33-yard pass to Xavier Legette down the field on a third-and-8 with 1:36 left in the fourth quarter to preserve the victory. Meanwhile, as stated above, the Bills have the No. 4 scoring offense on the third-most yards in the NFL this season. Buffalo has scored at least 30 points in four of six games this season. The Panthers have allowed at least 24 points in five of seven games this year, and the model projects the Over to hit in 63% of simulations.
Throwing a leg that somewhat contradicts at least one play in your same-game parlay can substantially increase your payout, and the SportsLine model projecting the Panthers Over team total is one way of accomplishing this. Although the model projects the Bils to cover the spread, it still projects the Panthers to score 23 points, therefore, it likes the value of playing the Panthers to score Over 19.5 points to get this parlay to more than 5-1 odds. The Panthers have scored at least 20 points in four of their last six games, and much of that can be credited to a strong rushing attack, which should continue even if Dalton starts. With the emergence of Rico Dowdle along with Chuba Hubbard's efficient running the last year-and-a-half, the Panthers have a top running back duo and rank third in the NFL in rushing at 140.1 yards per game. The Panthers were just 26th in passing offense, so Dalton could even provide a lift there in the short term. Meanwhile, the Bills rank 31st in rushing defense, allowing 156.3 rushing yards per game.