Saints @ Panthers Preview

Even after losing to the New Orleans Saints a couple weeks ago, the Carolina Panthers still find the NFC South within their grasp. If Carolina wins they will likely take the division and the first round playoff by that comes with it. The only thing standing in their way is the Saints.

The last team the Seattle Seahawks want to see on their post season schedule is the strong defense of the Panthers. Carolina has the second best defense in the NFL and with Cam Newton leading the offense, this is truly a good all around football team and has a tool set built to beat a team like the Seahawks., but before the Panthers can start thinking about challenging the Seahawks for the conference title they first have to contend with Drew Brees.

With their offense having being legendarily formidable for year, the Saints focused on improving their defense this last off-season. This was a logical move considering just last year the Saints were the worst defense in the league. They hired Rob Ryan and now they currently have the fifth best defense in the NFL. 

The Saints have already handily defeated the Panthers. However, they were playing at home. On the road, the Saints have struggled. They have only one three out of seven games on the road, and have racked up loss to the St. Louis Rams (just last week) and nearly dropped an away game to the Tampa Bay Bucs early in the season.

Much like the Saints, the Panthers look really good when playing at home. They are 6-1, with their sole home-game loss coming in Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks. The Saints haven’t won a game on the road since Week 5.  It may be a perfect storm for the Panthers to beat the Saints.

The Panthers are the favorites to win this game with a -3 points spread. Do not expect this game to be a high scoring affair. The over/under is set at 45 points. The game starts at 1 p.m. ET.