The Carolina Panthers are hoping No. 1 pick Bryce Young’s second preseason game goes better than the first.
In his NFL debut last week, Young played three series but the offense was only able to generate one first down against a group of backup defenders from the New York Jets. Young sustained a few hard hits and ended up completing four of his six pass attempts for 21 yards in an eventual 27-0 loss.
It was Young’s first taste of the pros and it obviously did not go well as the Panthers were the only team held scoreless in Week 1 of the preseason.
But it’s only preseason, so there’s no need to overreact. And now Young and the Panthers will get another shot on Friday night when they head to the Meadowlands to face the New York Giants.
The Giants, who lost their preseason opener 21-16 to the Detroit Lions, are 3-point home favorites with the total listed at 39.
Earlier in the week, Giants head coach Brian Daboll wouldn’t say whether he would play any of his starters. And it’s unclear how much action the Panthers’ first-teamers will see, too. Still, the Panthers are undoubtedly hoping for a smoother operation from Young and the offense, especially in the Alabama product’s first time in an NFL road environment.
There’s one other preseason game on the docket for Friday night as the Atlanta Falcons host the Cincinnati Bengals. The Falcons are 6.5-point favorites at BetMGM with the total listed at 38.5.
Busy Friday in MLB
There are 16 games on the schedule in Major League Baseball on Friday with postseason races in full swing.
There are a few interesting interleague series beginning Friday, including the Cincinnati Reds hosting the Toronto Blue Jays. Both teams are fighting for playoff spots with the Reds two games back in the NL Central and also in the thick of the wild card race. The Blue Jays currently occupy the last AL wild card by half a game. For this matchup, the Blue Jays are -160 road favorites. The Reds are +135.
The Milwaukee Brewers at the Texas Rangers is another intriguing interleague series beginning Friday. The Rangers (-120 home favorites) are in first place by 2.5 games in the AL West while the Brewers (+100) are two games up in the NL Central.
Elsewhere, the Atlanta Braves begin a three-game home series with the San Francisco Giants. The Braves, who have the best record in baseball at 78-42, are -225 favorites with the Giants listed as +180 underdogs. The Giants (64-57) currently occupy the second NL wild card spot.
In the American League, the Houston Astros are set to host the Seattle Mariners, another team trying to get back to the playoffs. The Mariners are six games back in the AL West and a half-game back of the last wild card spot. The M’s are +120 underdogs while the Astros are -145 at home. The Astros are 2.5 games back in the division.
Women’s World Cup Final set for Sunday
The FIFA Women’s World Cup comes to a close this weekend with Sweden and Australia meeting Saturday in the third-place match and Spain and England battling in the Final on Sunday.
For the Final, Spain is a slight favorite at +160 with England at +185 and a regular time draw at +210. For the third-place game, Sweden is +140, Australia is +165 and a draw is +250.
BMW Championship underway on PGA Tour
The second round of the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club in Illinois is set for Friday.
Entering second-round action, Brian Harman and Rory McIlroy are tied atop the leaderboard at -5 with six others right behind them at -4. The group at -4 includes Scottie Scheffler.
As of early Friday morning, McIlroy was the betting favorite to win the tournament at +333, ahead of Scheffler (+400), Jon Rahm (+1200), Rickie Fowler (+1400), Harman (+1600), Patrick Cantlay (+1600) and Wyndham Clark (+1600). Cantlay won the event last year.
