The New Orleans Saints will travel to Bank of America Stadium to take on the Carolina Panthers this Sunday afternoon in NFL action.
The New Orleans Saints (1-0) opened their season in impressive fashion after defeating the Green Bay Packers, 38-3, this past Sunday. New Orleans dominated Green Bay throughout the entire game and had no trouble securing the victory after 1-yard TD reception by Juwan Johnson gave the Saints a 17-0 lead with 1:07 left in regulation. New Orleans outgained Green Bay by a 322-229 margin while also winning the turnover battle by a 3-0 margin.
Offensively, New Orleans was led by QB Jameis Winston who completed 14 of 20 passes for 148 yards & 5 TD’s. RB Alvin Kamara rushed for 83 yards on 20 carries while also hauling in a 3-yard TD reception. The top receivers for the Saints were Deonte Harris (2 rec, 72 yards, TD), Juwan Johnson (3 rec, 21 yards, 2 TD), & Chris Hogan (1 rec, 10 yards, TD).
New Orleans did an outstanding job slowing down Aaron Rodgers (15-28, 133 yards, 2 INT) and limited the Packers to just 14 first downs. Leading the way for the Saints defense was Marcus Davenport (3 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFL) & Paulson Adebo (3 tackles, 1 PD, 1 INT).
The Carolina Panthers improved to 1-0 on the season after defeating the New York Jets, 19-14, this past Sunday. Carolina was strong in the 1st half on both ends of the field and was able to hold off the Jets in the 2nd half for the victory after going into halftime with a 16-0 lead. Carolina outgained New York by a 381-252 margin which both the Jets & Panthers committed one turnover each.
Offensively, Carolina was led by RB Christian McCaffrey who finished the game with 187 total yards (21 car, 98 yards); 9 rec, 89 yards). QB Sam Donald completed 24 of 35 passes for 279 yards & 1 TD while also adding a rushing TD. The top receiving threats outside of McCaffrey were DJ Moore (6 rec, 80 yards), Robby Anderson (1 rec, 57 yards, TD), & Terrance Marshall Jr. (3 rec, 26 yards).
Defensively, Carolina did an outstanding job against the New York rushing attach as they held the Jets to just 45 rushing yards on 17 carries (2.6 rushing yds/g).
The Saints are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games after scoring more than 30 points in their previous game and 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games as a favorite. The Panthers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. NFC opponents and 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
New Orleans had arguably the most impressive performance in Week 1 with their dismantling of Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers and although I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Saints take a step-back in this one, it’s still hard not to like the Saints in this one. Carolina has one of the best offensive weapons in the NFL in Christian McCaffrey, however, Sam Donald is still far from proven, and I can’t say I was overly impressed with how the Panthers allowed the Jets to remain competitive in the 2nd half despite going into halftime with a 17-0 lead. New Orleans defense did a great job against Aaron Rodgers which is a much bigger challenge than what they face this week and as Jameis Winston should be able to put a few points against this Carolina defense, I think the play here is to take Saints to cover this small road spread. Good Luck!
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
