The Panthers are back to being underdogs after being favored for Sunday’s loss to the Bears. According to the early odds at BetMGM, the team has opened as a 7.5-point underdog for next week’s game against the Saints.
Carolina’s NFC South rivals are coming off a bye week and will be playing at home, which should make them that much more difficult to beat.
That said, New Orleans doesn’t look quite as tough this season as they have been the last few years. They just barely beat the Chargers on Monday Night Football in Week 5 and had to overcome a 14-point deficit against the lowly Lions the previous week. There’s also some turbulence in their locker room, with wide receiver Michael Thomas getting fined and benched for punching Chauncey Gardner-Johnson at practice. There have been some rumors indicating that the Saints may look to trade their highly-unlikeable star, but that seems far-fetched.
In any case, the Saints have been dominating the Panthers in recent years, winning six of the last seven matchups with their only loss coming when they benched most of their key players in a meaningless Week 17 game. It’s tough to see Carolina coming away with another upset victory.
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