There’s a lot on the line in Monday night’s prime-time game between the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers. This rivalry series has gotten heated through the years — and the Panthers swept the Saints last season, meaning New Orleans is currently ahead in the all-time history by a single game (29-28).
If the Panthers can pull off an upset win on Monday, they would tie it all up at 29-29 and set up a pivotal rematch at the Caesars Superdome in Week 14 (Dec. 10). But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here.
While the Panthers did win each of the last two meetings in Carolina, the Saints won four straight matchups in Charlotte from 2017 to 2020. Even if the Panthers have installed a new coaching staff and a highly-touted rookie quarterback, they’re a team who knows the Saints well and always play them tough.
Quite a few former Saints players are suiting up for Carolina, too: backup quarterback Andy Dalton, defensive tackle Shy Tuttle, and strong safety Vonn Bell were all offseason acquisitions.
Dennis Allen’s squad can’t afford to overlook them after the Panthers dropped a two-touchdown loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1. They’ve got no room for trash talk having scored just 16 points in a single-digit win themselves.
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