Suddenly winning with an interim coach and a completely reshuffled roster is not supposed to happen. Yet, Sam Darnold has looked healthy and has accepted the Panthers' run-heavy script. The Panthers would get the tiebreaker with a Buccaneers loss and division lead if they win Sunday. Grab the Panthers as they build a season-high third straight win and defeat the Steelers.

It's unclear who will start at quarterback for the Steelers, with Kenny Pickett in concussion protocol and both Mitchell Trubisky and Mason Rudolph taking first-team reps. I like the Panthers to extend their home dominance no matter who Pittsburgh starts. Carolina has won three straight home games, all by double digits. Sam Darnold has played two clean games since taking over, and D'Onta Foreman has four 100-yard games since Week 7. Most important when facing T.J. Watt, Carolina has allowed the second-fewest sacks (11) since Week 6. Look for the Panthers to improve to 7-2 ATS under interim coach Steve Wilks. Play Carolina -3 at even money.

It's looking like Kenny Pickett could miss this game, and that plus the Panthers winning in Seattle has moved this line 5.5 points from the lookahead. But that's just too large an adjustment for me. Pickett hasn't been that much better than Mitchell Trubisky was, and I think the Steelers can lean on the run game and be fine offensively. Their defense could absolutely wreck a Carolina offense that struggles on third downs, and this could be a bounceback spot for that unit against the run as they rank ninth in yards per rush allowed. While the Panthers have played a lot better since benching Baker Mayfield, I'm not ready to say they should be laying a field goal to just about anyone.