Saints vs Panthers 2023 NFL Betting Odds in Week 2 MNF

NFL bettors get a doubleheader on Monday night in Week 2 with the first game from the NFC South and featuring the New Orleans Saints at the Carolina Panthers and No. 1 overall rookie QB Bryce Young in his home debut. The Saints are short favorites on the NFL odds.

New Orleans Saints vs Carolina Panthers MNF Odds, Analysis and Prediction | 2023 NFL Expert Analysis by MyBookie Sportsbook

NFL Regular Season: September 7, 2023 – January 7, 2024
Week 2 NFL: Thursday, September 14 to Monday, September 18, 2023

How to Bet Saints at Panthers NFL Odds MNF & TV Info

When: Monday, 7:15 PM ET
Where: Bank of America Stadium
TV: ESPN/ESPN2
Radio: http://www.siriusxm.com/nfl
Stream Option: ESPN+
Opening NFL Lines: Saints -3 (total 39.5)

Last Season

Carolina won both matchups in 2022. In Charlotte, it was by a score of 22-14 in Week 3. Laviska Shenault caught a momentum-changing 67-yard touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield in the fourth quarter, and Marquis Haynes returned a fumble 44 yards for a touchdown to lead Carolina. Jameis Winston completed 25 of 41 passes for 353 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in the loss.

Why Bet on New Orleans?

The Saints were 16-15 winners over Tennessee in Week 1. Derek Carr completed 23 of 33 passes for 305 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Carr was efficient in his Saints debut while distributing the ball to Michael Thomas, Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave. He averaged 9.2 yards per attempt and particularly excelled while pushing the ball down the field, as he completed five passes of more than 20 yards.

Chris Olave posted 112 receiving yards on eight catches. The Saints moved Olave all over the field, lining him up out wide, in the slot, and even in the backfield. They are making it a priority to get him the ball, and it worked against the Titans with Carr targeting him 10 times. Olave was also the target on a 50-yard bomb from Carr in the fourth quarter that could have easily been called a pass interference.

But the defense was the story as Marshon Lattimore, Marcus Maye and Paulson Adebo all had interceptions. The unit also sacked Tennessee quarterback Ryan Tannehill three times and held star running back Derrick Henry to 63 yards on 15 carries, and only 12 in the second half. Tannehill was just 16 of 34 for 198 yards and a 28.8 rating.

The Saints remain without Pro Bowl running back Alvin Kamara due to suspension. Rookie tailback Kendre Miller (hamstring) is questionable for Monday but he is trending toward his debut. Jamaal Williams was heavily featured in the Week 1 win over the Titans, playing 49 of the offensive snaps compared to nine total for backups Tony Jones and Kirk Merritt. That snap-count disparity will likely change if Miller is active.

That the Saints were unable to run the ball effectively (27 carries for 69 yards) against the Titans was no shock as Tennessee led the league in run defense last season, allowing 76.9 rushing yards per game, and the Titans boast a formidable front. But for New Orleans to be the offense it aspires to be, it’s going to have to run it better. The Panthers allowed 130 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries against Atlanta in the season opener.

Defensively, the Saints have tied the longest streak in franchise history (9/8/-11/10/91) of nine consecutive games holding an opponent to 20 points or less, dating back to November 13, 2022. It was the second time in three season openers that New Orleans kept their opponent out of the end zone, with the Saints defeating the Green Bay Packers 38-3 on September 12, 2021. New Orleans held Tennessee to field goals on all three of their red zone attempts.

Bet Saints to Win Today
MyBookie Betting Lines for the Game

Why Bet on Carolina?

Carolina was a 24-10 loser in Week 1 in Atlanta. Panthers No. 1 overall rookie QB Bryce Young completed 20 of 38 passes for 146 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions and added three carries for 17 yards. He also fumbled once but recovered. The Falcons compressed the field significantly for Young, holding him to a meager 3.8 yards per attempt while also sacking him and picking him off two times apiece. The pair of interceptions led to 10 total points for Atlanta.

Young didn’t complete anything deeper than 14 yards, and only had a couple of attempts beyond 20. Both his interceptions were on mid-range passes across the middle by Falcons safety Jessie Bates III, who said they anticipated the Panthers to keep things short for the rookie quarterback to ease him into his first game. But the Panthers are hoping for some remedies in the downfield passing game, beginning with getting top WR DJ Chark Jr. back on the field this week. He missed the opener due to injury.

“I feel like I can at least try to help, at least backup coverage a little bit, get other guys open. That’s something that is needed in the game. So, not that the guys out there couldn’t do that because they can, it’s just a game plan and if they choose to do that, we have to be able to make a team pay when they do that,” Chark said.

Carolina will be without starting left guard Brady Christensen, who suffered a season-ending triceps injury against Atlanta. Coach Reich said his starting guards will be Cade Mays and Chandler Zavala, but declined to specify which side they would be on. Zavala, a rookie out of North Carolina State, started the opener at right guard in place of Austin Corbett, who began the season on the physically unable to perform list.

The Panthers placed cornerback Jaycee Horn (hamstring) on injured reserve Friday. Horn’s hamstring injury isn’t considered season-ending, though the cornerback appears on track to spend more than the minimum four games on IR. The Panthers are having to lean on depth in the secondary against a Saints offense that produced the league’s fifth-most passing yards (282) in Week 1.

Carolina has Donte Jackson’s experience to anchor one corner spot, but the team will look to CJ Henderson and Troy Hill to step up in Horn’s absence. And Reich said he feels confident in what they have back there.

“We like that group,” Reich said. “We like the group, the depth. CJ is extremely talented. Troy’s that savvy veteran. Of course, Donte is our guy back there. So we feel like that’s a good group. We feel like we can be versatile with those guys in how we play, and (we’re) excited about them stepping up.”

Panthers star outside linebacker Brian Burns was all over the place early against the Falcons last week, and thanks to a stat change by the league, his 1.5-sack debut is now a 2.0-sack game, a nice way to start the season. But for Burns, the stat’s not a motivating factor as much as improving his own play on the field, and that means putting the contract talk that dominated the first week in the rear-view mirror. Burns will not talk contract any longer.

“We haven’t really been in talks,” Burns said Saturday. “I told them once the season started I’m all about ball. I can’t give a thousand percent on the field and to my teammates if I’m still worried about contract negotiations.”

Bet Panthers to Win Today
MyBookie Betting Lines for the Game

MNF Expert Prediction

Saints 20, Panthers 19

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