New Orleans at Carolina Betting Analysis, Lines, Odds

Three teams from the NFC South won their opener last weekend, and two of those three teams will meet this Sunday, as the Carolina Panthers will host the New Orleans Saints and Bank of America Stadium.

New Orleans will be coming off of their Week 1 domination of the Green Bay Packers, while Sam Darnold won his revenge game against the New York Jets. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at both teams and how they arrive to this match so you can place your bets against their NFL odds.

NFL Betting Preview for Saints vs Panthers

New Orleans Saints Analysis

It wasn’t a shock that the Saints beat the Packers; it was a shock at how easy the win was. Jameis Winston, who had to beat out Taysom Hill for the starting role in training camp, threw for five touchdowns in the Saints 38-3 thrashing of the Green Bay Packers.

Alvin Kamara rushed for 80 yards to spark the Saints’ ground game. Without Michael Thomas, who is out due to injury, the Saints aerial attack was led by Juwan Johnson, Deonte Harris, and Chris Hogan.

Defensively, the Saints shut down Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. It’s rare that an Aaron Rodgers-led team is held to just a field goal. Over the years, the Saints defense has been blamed for many of their postseason shortcomings, but in the past couple of years, the Saints have built a very formidable defense, and many would say that it will be the defense that will carry the Saints this season.

We don’t expect to see another five-touchdown game from Winston, but we do like how the Saints’ offense came out and played against a potential playoff team in Week 1.

Carolina Panthers Analysis

With Sam Darnold at the helm, and a healthy Christian McCaffrey, the Panthers outlasted the New York Jets 19-14. Darnold showed the Jets that he was capable of being a top-tier quarterback, as he went 24-35 for 279 yards. McCaffrey missed much of last season due to injury, but he returned with a vengeance. He had 21 carries for 98 yards and also had nine receptions for 89 yards. DJ Moore and Robby Anderson led the Panthers in receiving, with each having a touchdown catch.

The Panthers‘ defense was led by Shaq Thompson, who had ten tackles, one sack, and one interception. Haason Reddick was an issue for the Jets, as he had 1.5 sacks and numerous pressures. All in all, the Panthers’ defense had six sacks on the day.

Prediction

The Panthers are a home underdog in this one, as the Saints are 3.5 point favorites in this one. The New Orleans Saints are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games, while the Carolina Panthers are 5-2 against the spread in their last seven contests.

While we think Winston will have a good year, we don’t see him having a repeat performance of Week 1. Carolina’s defense is underrated, and we look for them to have a very good season. Carolina has built themselves a nice offense, and with McCaffrey as one of the best weapons in the league and also having a very good group of receivers, we think the Panthers are going to surprise some people this season.

We’re going to go with the dog in this one and pick the Panthers to win outright.

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