The New Orleans Saints will meet the Carolina Panthers in this week’s edition of Monday Night Football on 12/17/18 at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Saints are eyeing to clinch home field advantage in the NFC playoffs while the Panthers are well, fighting for their playoff lives. Although they are not yet mathematically out of the equation, Carolina may need to win out to make it to the postseason.
The New Orleans Saints are at 11-2 on the season and tied with the Los Angeles Rams for the best record in the NFC. They do own the tiebreaker versus the Rams but a victory over the Carolina Panthers on Monday will put some separation between them and the Rams and at the same time boot the Panthers out of the NFC playoff race.
Drew Brees is has completed 75.7% of his passes and has thrown for a total of 3,463 passing yards with 31 touchdowns and just four interceptions. Alvin Kamara leads the New Orleans rushing game with 793 rushing yards and 11 scores. Kamara also has caught for a total of 591 receiving yards with four touchdowns.
The Carolina Panthers started the season like they were going to challenge the Saints in the NFC. Carolina won six out of their first games but since then, they have lost five games in a row. Now they have been reduced to trying to stay alive in the playoff hunt. All is not lost though for the Panthers but they have to start by beating the Saints to keep pace with 6th placed Minnesota.
Cam Newton has thrown for a total of 3,264 yards while completing 68.8% of his passes. Newton has thrown for a total of 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions on the season. Christian McCaffrey is the top rusher for the Panthers with a total of 926 rushing yards with seven touchdowns. He also lead the team with 86 receptions for a total of 701 receiving yards with 6 touchdown catches.
New Orleans is 11-1 SU in their last 12 games played. The Saints are 6-1 SU in their last seven road games. Carolina is 0-5 SU in their last five games played but the Panthers are 10-1 SU in their last 11 home games. Head to head, the Saints are 4-1 SU in their last five games against the Panthers but Carolina is 4-2 SU in their last four home games against New Orleans.
No doubt, the Saints are playing much better than the Panthers right now as Carolina has lost five games in a row. But despite their losing streak, Cam and Co. have been very solid at home. Christian McCaffrey is one of the best rush weapons in the NFC but the Saints have the league’s best rush defense in terms of yards allowed. A banged up Newton meanwhile could struggle against one of the best pass rush defenses in the league. If Carolina’s defense holds, they will hang around. Otherwise, I expect the Saints to roll over them on Monday. We’re picking the New Orleans Saints to beat the Carolina Panthers on 12/17/18.
The Saints are 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games played. New Orleans is also 7-1 ATS in their last eight road games. The Panthers are 0-5 ATS in their last five games played but 8-3 ATS in their las 11 home games. Head to head, the Saints are 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven games against the Panthers. New Orleans is also 3-1-1 ATS in their last five road games against Carolina.
The Panthers have struggled against the spread during their five game losing streak. Carolina is 0-5 ATS in their last five games overall and the Panthers are also 0-4 ATS in their last four games after an ATS loss. Carolina is also ATS in their last seven games against the NFC South. Meanwhile, the Saints are 20-6 ATS in their last 26 games played. New Orleans is also 4-0 ATS in their last four games against team with losing records. The Bank of America Arena has been the Panthers’ refuge as they are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 home games. But the Saints are 6-1 SU and ATS on the road this season. Prediction: Saints -6.5
The total has gone under in four out of the last five games played by the Saints. The under is also 5-1 in New Orleans’ last six road games. The total has gone over in each of the last home games played by the Panthers. The over is 7-1 in the last eight head to head meetings between these teams. The total has gone under in 11 out of the last 15 games between these two teams in Carolina.
The under has hit in the last four games played by the Saints with an average combined score of just 42 points. The under has hit in four out of the last five games for the Panthers after an SU loss and the under is also 5-1 in their last six games after an ATS defeat. The Saints have one of the league’s best pass rush defenses and they have the best rush defense in the NFL in terms of rush yards per game. The Panthers have allowed just 21 points per game at home. I don’t think these teams will breach the 50.5 total. Prediction: Under 50.5
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
