MNF Betting – New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
Not only do the Carolina Panthers need a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, they need to beat the team that swept them in all three games last season.
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That should be enough to motivate Cam Newton and his mates to awaken from a slumber that’s seen them fall in the standings after losing five straight games, but the New Orleans Saints have proven to be a Super Bowl contender by posting the best record in the NFL. The Saints have picked up the defensive intensity lately and will look to extend Carolina’s agony on Monday night.
New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
Date and Time: Monday, December 17, 2018, 8:15 p.m. ET
Location: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
NFL Odds: Saints -6, O/U 50
Saints at Panthers TV Coverage: ESPN
Wrapping up their second straight NFC South title last week, the Saints got a gift on Sunday when the Rams were defeated, giving New Orleans more of a cushion for the No. 1 seed in the conference. To a man the Saints players are saying the right things, like how much the remaining games mean to them in their quest to secure the top spot. But the reality is that after a long, grueling season, taking a breather is only natural. Will that happen on Monday night? We can only wait and see.
The Saints haven’t been the same team offensively over the last two games scoring a total of 38 points in those outings and Drew Brees hasn’t put up numbers were accustomed to seeing from him. In fact, over the last three games, Brees has thrown for only 499 yards and has been intercepted in each outing. Certainly not Brees-like numbers, but the Saints won two of those games, which tells us just how good this team is.
Using their dynamic duo of Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara, the Saints have enough to keep opponents uneasy, and it’s just a matter of time before Brees finds his rhythm. And there’s a good chance that happens on Monday night against the 22nd ranked pass defense. Brees will use Kamara out of the backfield as an extension of the run game, and that will pad his stats as he wins a prop bet at BookMaker by exceeding his passing yard total.
The Panthers didn’t suddenly become a horrible football team. They were cruising along near the top of the conference standings and pushing the Saints just six weeks ago by going 6-2. Then the wheels came off and Ron Rivera hasn’t been able to get things ironed out. He made some changes to his coaching staff, firing a pair of defensive assistants, and the group played better last week, yet still lost 26-20 to Cleveland. It was their fourth straight loss by seven points or less and dropped their record in such games to 2-5.
Maybe the odds are in their favor to turn things around and playing at home for the just the second time in the past six weeks should help. The Panthers are 5-1 SU and 4-2 ATS at BofA Stadium this season.
For the Panthers to end their slide they will have to dent an impressive Saints defense that hasn’t allowed more than 17 points in any of their last five games. That task will belong to Newton and Christian McCaffrey. Cam has been dealing with a sore throwing shoulder for a few weeks and, according to offensive coordinator Norv Turner, the injury has disrupted continuity in the team’s offense. So you can expect McCaffrey to get plenty of touches when playing the live betting lines at BookMaker.eu.
The second-year multi-dimensional back leads the team in rushing and receiving, and it isn’t even close. McCaffrey has 926 rushing yards and averages 5.2 yards per carry. In addition he has 701 yards on 86 receptions and his 1,627 yards from scrimmage are among the league leaders. McCaffrey ran for over 100 yards in each of the two previous games before being held to 63 last week. He did score a pair of touchdowns against the Browns and has reached paydirt 12 times in the last seven games, which is more than any other player in the NFL. He can sniff the end zone from near and far and that makes McCaffrey an easy prop bet pick to score at least one touchdown on Monday night.
Saints at Panthers Live Betting
We’re used to seeing a lot of points when NFC South teams play each other, but that has changed recently and the Saints are a major reason why. They haven’t allowed more than 17 points in any of their last five games and have cashed the under in the last four. The Panthers need this game and I expect the Saints to have a bit of a letdown following their division-clinching win last week. That’s enough for the Panthers to sneak by in another close one.
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