Panthers Edge Texans in Preseason Finale as Under Cashes Comfortably

The Carolina Panthers squeaked past the Houston Texans 16-13 in a preseason finale that played out exactly as advertised—ugly, vanilla, and mercifully low-scoring. DarkHorse's under 36.5 never broke a sweat, cashing with 22 points to spare as both offenses sleepwalked through roster auditions.

This was preseason football in its purest, most unwatchable form. Houston's backup quarterbacks managed just 13 points against Carolina's second and third-string defenders, continuing their anemic preseason trend of 13.5 PPG over their last two exhibitions. The Texans looked disinterested and outmatched, which is precisely what happens when C.J. Stroud watches from the sideline and Davis Mills runs the show.

Carolina wasn't much better, scraping together 16 points despite having the home crowd behind them. Bryce Young's cameo was brief and forgettable, leaving Kyle Trask and Kenny Pickett to manage a game neither team wanted to win. The Panthers' offense sputtered through vanilla playcalling that wouldn't fool a high school defense.

The final tally of 29 points landed well below both teams' preseason averages and validated everything we knew about Week 4 exhibitions: starters rest, schemes simplify, and scoreboards gather dust. DarkHorse nailed this one—sometimes the easiest money is betting on preseason mediocrity.