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The New Orleans Saints have to like their chances against the Carolina Panthers. Carolina is reeling, with Cam Newton lost for the year and his promising backup, Kyle Allen, trying to recover from a four-interception meltdown versus the Atlanta Falcons (a game the Panthers lost 29-3).
According to updated odds from BetMGM, the Saints have risen to 9.5-point favorites over the Panthers, but the over/under has dropped to 46.5. That projects a final score of Saints 28, Panthers 18, which would be their fourth consecutive double-digit victory (a Week 10 loss to those same surging Falcons notwithstanding). When the Saints give opponents their due diligence and execute well, there isn’t a team in the NFL that should scare them.
Trouble comes when New Orleans either underestimates their opponent or makes too many mistakes on game day. The Saints have generally made smart preparations this year (again, that Falcons upset is glaring) but they have been prone to in-game errors, especially holding penalties on offense.
If the Saints start off on the wrong foot and let Carolina hang around in this game, the Panthers have enough talent to give them trouble. Playing divisional opponents — who have the benefit of extended previous experience and familiar knowledge of play-calling tendencies — is almost always a tall order. Here’s hoping that Falcons loss helped galvanize the Saints and gave them ample motivation to push towards the playoffs.
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