ProFootballDoc: Thursday Night Injury Advantages For Panthers-Texans

Through Week 2, the five Sunday picks against the spread have dropped to 6-4. It was just one of those weeks. When a long snap hits the Rams' personal protector in the arm and leads to a special teams touchdown, you know it is not your week. The Monday Night Packers cover doesn't count as I'm only keeping the records of the five games on Sunday.

Thursday night's matchup features a resurgent Sam Darnold against a rookie QB.

CAR -7.5 (vs HOU)

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The Texans will start their third-string QB, third-round draft pick and former Stanford QB, Davis Mills. Deshaun Watson remains in limbo, and Tyrod Taylor is on the IR for his hamstring. Between that and their slot receiver issues, the Texans' offense shows a 22.3 point SIC score disadvantage to the Panthers' defense. Overall, Carolina is the healthier side by 17 SIC score points. At the time of this post, the Panthers are favored by 7.5, but that number should climb.

A third-string QB on a short week versus a 2-0 team that just manhandled the Saints has the makings of a blowout.

Use the Field View and hover view to see individual injuries. All games are posted at www.profootballdoc.com and it is free, so OutKick readers should take advantage.

Written by
David Chao, MD -- known digitally as Pro Football Doc -- is an expert contributor for Outkick. Chao spent 17 seasons as the team doctor for the San Diego Chargers (1997-2013) and is part of the medical team at OASIS in San Diego where he treats and specializes in orthopedic sports injuries, working with high-profile professional athletes from the NFL, NBA, and MLB.