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NFL betting: Panthers are a very popular pick to beat the Texans on Thursday Night Football

If you’re betting on the Houston Texans to beat the Carolina Panthers, you’re in the minority.

The Panthers are by far the preferred choice of bettors in Thursday night’s game. Carolina opened as 4.5-point favorites and the line moved up to 8 points at BetMGM after Houston QB Tyrod Taylor was ruled out for the game because of a hamstring injury suffered in Week 2 against Cleveland.

Nearly 80% of bettors are on the Panthers to cover the spread and 82% of the money wagered on the point spread is on the Panthers to cover. Moneyline bettors like Carolina too. The 2-0 Panthers were -300 to win the game straight up and are now -400 to win. While just 45% of moneyline tickets are on Carolina, those tickets make up 67% of the moneyline handle.

Bettors are also bullish on the over. Unlike the spread, the total hasn’t moved much in the days before kickoff. It’s gone from 43.5 to 43. Just over 60% of tickets are on the over to hit and those tickets make up 71% of the handle. It’s safe to say that BetMGM would be happy with a close Texans loss in a low-scoring game.

McCaffrey dominates prop bets

All of the popular prop bets at BetMGM include star Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey. He’s the most popular pick to score the first TD (+333) and bettors also like McCaffrey’s chances of scoring multiple TDs (+135).

The odds of McCaffrey scoring at any point in the game are very low as well. A single McCaffrey TD at any point is -225.