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The Saints (12-3) head to Charlotte to take on the Panthers (5-10) Sunday afternoon.  New Orleans won the first matchup between these two teams 34-31 at home in Week 12 behind a 311 yard, three-touchdown performance from Drew Brees. With their third NFC South championship secured, the Saints are looking to improve their playoff seed with a win and some help from other teams around the league.

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Saints vs. Panthers

• When: Sunday, December 29
• Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
• TV: FOX
• Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

The Packers beat the Vikings on Monday, which didn’t help the Saints cause. They currently trail the top-seeded 49ers and second-seeded Packers in the playoff picture. Two weeks ago Drew Brees broke the NFL record for career touchdown passes with No. 540, surpassing Peyton Manning. In a 38-28 win over Tennessee last weekend, Michael Thomas also added his name into the record books, breaking Marvin Harrison’s single-season receptions mark. Thomas has 145 catches for 1,6888 yards in 2019. If the Saints are the third seed when the season is over, it would mark the second time (2011) that they finished in that spot with a 13-3 record.

While the Panthers were red hot early in the season, the tides quickly turned. Carolina has lost seven in a row, including a 38-6 defeat at the hands of Indianapolis last weekend. Rookie Will Grier made his first start and completed 27 of 44 passes for 224 yards and three interceptions.  Christian McCaffrey, the heart and soul of the team, rushed for 54 yards and caught 15 passes for 119 yards. McCaffrey is second in the NFL with 1,361 yards this season. How effective will he be against a defensive unit that features Cam Jordan (14.5 sacks) and is ranked fifth against the run (94.7 YPG)? That will be a major factor in Sunday’s contest.

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The Saints (8-2) and Panthers (5-5) clash in an NFC South showdown between the top two teams in the division. Carolina leads the all-time series 25-24, including a 33-14 win in New Orleans last year. Prior to that New Orleans had won four in a row.

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Panthers vs. Saints

When: Sunday, November 24

Time: 1:00 p.m. ET

TV: FOX

Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

The Saints and Panthers both fell victim to the Atlanta Falcons in recent weeks. Kyle Allen, who has taken over nicely for the injured Cam Newton, had one of his worst games all season. Allen threw for 325 yards, no touchdowns and tossed four interceptions. However, Carolina does boast the best running back in the league in Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey can do it all as evident by his 70 yards on the ground and 121 yards and one touchdown receiving. McCaffrey has accounted for nearly half of the team’s offensive production this season. He’s a game-changer, but he can’t always do everything on his own and will need help from his teammates against a Saints offense that can put up their fair share of points.

Defensively, New Orleans will need to stop the pass. Matt Ryan threw for 311 yards and one touchdown last weekend and had help from the speedsters Calvin Ridley and Julio Jones, who totaled 143 yards and 91 yards, respectively. Brees can sling the ball and has one of the best wide receivers in the league in Michael Thomas as his go-to target. The Panthers have been much better against the pass (14th) than the rush (27th) this season.

Resilient. That was the word running back Alvin Kamara used to describe the Saints. That was on display against the Buccaneers one week after losing 26-9 vs. Falcons in a divisional contest. Drew Brees was nearly flawless in the team’s 34-17 win over Tampa Bay with 228 yards passing and three touchdowns. Alvin Kamara had 13 carries for 75 yards, while Michael Thomas did what he does best in the receiving game with eight catches for 114 yards and one touchdown. Thomas leads the NFL with 1,141 yards and is six catches shy of 100 on the season. Assuming he achieves that feat, it will mark the third straight year he’s done it, which has only been done by eight players in NFL history.

The story of the game last weekend wasn’t Thomas, his record or the offense, but rather the defense. The Saints defense was in the face of quarterback Jameis Winston all game long. New Orleans created four turnovers and sacked Winston two times. Demario Davis picked up six tackles and an interception, while Cam Jordan added three tackles and one-and-a-half sacks. The Saints defense is ranked third in rushing yards allowed (85.3 YPG) and will face a tough test in McCaffrey.

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