Panthers vs. Saints Prediction
Will the New Orleans Saints make it 2-0 against their NFC South rivals the Carolina Panthers with a victory and a cover on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET?
Who Oddsmakers Like: New Orleans. According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Saints are 5.5-point home favorites to beat the Panthers, who opened as 3.5-point road underdogs. As for the total, the number hit the board at 47.5 but has been bet up to 48.
Who the Public Likes: New Orleans. As of Sunday morning, the Saints are receiving 60% of the tickets at the betting window.
Who the Trends Like: Carolina and the over. The underdog is a perfect 6-0 against the spread in the last six meetings between these two teams. The Panthers are also 12-4 at the betting window in their last 16 games in New Orleans while the road team is 23-9 against the spread in the last 32 meetings. As for the over, it is 5-1 in the last six meetings between these two teams and is 5-1 in the last six meetings in New Orleans.
Who We Like: New Orleans. The Saints are coming off a loss and the Panthers a win, so it makes sense why some might believe that Carolina is a massive value getting points. That said, the Panthers have actually been out-gained in two of their last three wins, which is a bad sign. A defensive touchdown, a special teams touchdown, and a 45-yard field goal in the final 21 seconds got the Panthers a cover last week versus the Jets. If you just looked at the final score you may have missed the fact that the Panthers were actually trailing in the fourth quarter of that game.
Drew Brees stunk last week in L.A. He should have been intercepted multiple times by a ferocious Rams defense. Still, I expect him to bounce back today and lead the Saints to what could be a division-clinching victory. Even though Carolina is outstanding defensively, I don’t believe Mark Ingram will be bottled up like he was a week ago and nobody can handle rookie Alvin Kamara.
The Saints are a perfect 4-0 against the spread in their last four divisional games and have covered in 22 of their last 27 home games versus a team with a winning road record. They’re also 8-3 at the betting window in their last 11 conference games.
NFL WEEK 13 PREDICTIONS: NEW ORLEANS SAINTS -5.5