HOUR | Wire2Wire breaks down Panthers vs. Broncos, Gamecocks football with Jordan Kaye, and rapid-fire national sports news.

Diesel (0:00)

Let's go.

From the fields to the courts, and the gridiron to the tracks, electrifying sports talk from start to finish, you're going Wire 2 Wire with Diesel and Cole Bryson, on The Fan Upstate.

Well, Sunday, Cole, the Broncos, come in to Charlotte to take on the Carolina Panthers at the bank. Pretty much two teams that are opposite mirror images of one another. I guess that's actual a mirror image. Carolina has great offense but a bad defense. The Broncos have a bad offense but a really good defense. The question is, Cole, who do we think gets the upper hand in two teams? The Broncos are six and two. Their record is considerably better than the Panthers three and four right now. Do the Panthers have a chance considering just the litany of injured players that they have out right now?

Cole Bryson (0:56)

How dare you, the first place Carolina Panthers, thank you very much.

Diesel (1:02)

Getting right. Are they the only team in the NFL that's in first place in the division that's below 500?

Cole Bryson (1:07)

The Giants are on the way to be that team, I believe, because the NFC East also sucks. But I mean, let's.

Diesel (1:13)

Wait, is it your team in the NFC East?

Cole Bryson (1:15)

Oh yeah, but they're not first. Dallas is terrible. They're so bad. They came in with a bad NFC East. It doesn't have quarterback play. That's how bad Dallas is. The Panthers are first in the NFC South. You mentioned the Broncos, six and two. They're first in the AFC West.

What's funny about this game? And I think this is why, by the way, Tolos, we're live at Twin Peaks. We want to see you. Come on out. Have a cold drink, some good food with us. We're here until seven. Oh yeah. I think this is why the NFL is fun.

Two division leaders, two very different situations. Yeah. You know what I mean? And you talked about the injuries. Of course, the injuries play a part. Carolina was a different team a couple of weeks ago. The injuries aren't helping. It seems like they've been snake bit a little bit when it comes to injuries this year. Yeah. Look, I mean, with all of that being said, I still think the Panthers are a good enough team in areas to make this a close game on Sunday.

Diesel (2:10)

Injured reserve, not going to play. Xavier LeGette, which I don't know that that's much more than addition by subtraction. Jonathan Brooks, he's out with an abdomen injury. Mike Jackson, cornerback, he's got a groin injury. JC. Horne, cornerback, he's got a quad injury. Caleb Evans, cornerback, he's got a triceps injury. Taylor Moten, offensive tackle, he's got the lower leg injury. Bryce Young was full participation in practice. That's good. As was Bobby Brown and Brady Christensen.

There's just so many pieces for this Carolina Panthers defense.

It's already bad. Some of these guys being out has contributed to making them bad because JC. Horn finally started playing well at the first part of the season before he went down. I just, it's a bad offense for the Broncos against a bad defense for the Panthers. I don't know who to pick in this game.

Cole Bryson (3:03)

What's funny is, it's banged up as Carolina is. You just read the injury report there.

Denver, Denver is only favored by two and a half points. Like that's, that's telling to me. They're only favored by two and a half. I think that makes this match up interesting. Of course Denver is the better team. Diesel, they're riding a four game win streak. They had that comeback victory against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. They're riding high, right? Meanwhile, Carolina's dropped, what, two straight and somehow sits atop still the top of the NFC South. So again, two division leaders, two very different situations. Denver has six wins, but here's the story line. You ready for this?

Denver has six wins, but has one of the worst offenses in the NFL. And I think that's why the point spread is what it is. I think that's why Carolina's only favored by two and a half. One of the best teams in the NFL, statistically with a record, one of the worst offenses statistically, that's a weird statistic going into this game Sunday.

Diesel (4:18)

It just feels like, and this is really all we have to go off at this point, it feels like this is one of those games where Carolina's defense being as bad as it is, with the new coordinator, by the way, Todd Wash, stepping in to take over for Edgero Avera, who's fired this week.