Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints Staff Predictions
By Luke Tucker
The Carolina Panthers (5-5) will look to bounce back this Sunday when they travel to face the New Orleans Saints (8-2).
On Sunday, the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints will meet in a crucial NFC South matchup. A win by the Panthers would give them a glimmer of hope in the divisional race, while a loss would virtually eliminate them from playoff contention. The Week 12 matchup pits a Carolina team coming off one of its most embarrassing losses under Ron Rivera with a Super Bowl-contending Saints team. Without further ado, here are Old North Banter’s staff predictions for this weekend’s contest.
Zack Smith (@zackrusmith): Saints 27, Panthers 13
The Panthers are coming off their worst loss since Week Two versus Tampa Bay. Kyle Allen showed why he was undrafted and the defense struggled to find an answer against the third-best passing offense in the league. It won’t get any easier this week as they face Drew Brees and the league’s best receiver in Michael Thomas (1,141 yds). I can’t see a way for the Panthers’ offense to be able to keep up their biggest weapon, Christian McCaffrey, going up against the NFL’s third-best rushing defense. Unfortunately, this game is going to be all too similar to the last.
Christian Candeloro (@christiancande3): Saints 26, Panthers 17
There’s no way that Kyle Allen matches his dreadful performance from last week but at this point I think the Panthers’ goose is cooked. This is must-win territory for the Panthers if they want to have any sort of chance at making the playoffs. I just think the Saints have more talent and a much better quarterback. Most distressing for me is the talent on the defensive side of the ball for the Saints. New Orleans has the sixth-ranked defense in the league and the third-ranked run defense. My prediction is the Saints have success in bottling up McCaffrey and the Panthers defense fails to hold down Thomas and co.
Luke Tucker (@luketucker19_): Saints 34, Panthers 14
Carolina has beat just one team with a current record over .500 this season, and it’ll likely stay that way Sunday in New Orleans. Christian McCaffrey is undoubtedly the Panthers’ best player, but the Saints will make it tough on him this weekend. New Orleans currently has the third-best run defense in the league, and is giving up the fourth-fewest receiving yards to opposing running backs. The Panthers likely won’t want Allen throwing the ball 50 times this weekend, so look for a heavy does of CMC anyway. Entering Sunday, the Saints are 10-point favorites, and have an 83% chance to win according to ESPN’s football power index. If Carolina gets blown out by another division rival, it could be the official end of the Ron Rivera era in Charlotte. Unfortunately for the Panthers, there’s a good chance that happens for a second-straight week.