New Orleans Saints vs Carolina Panthers 12/17/18 NFL Odds and Pick

The New Orleans Saints face the Carolina Panthers at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina in Week 15’s edition of Monday Night Football.

The Saints already clinched their division last week while the Panthers are still fighting for their playoffs lives. With five consecutive defeats, the Panthers no longer control their playoff destiny but there still exists a path and the Panthers must win over the Saints to get there.

With their 28-14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, the New Orleans Saints have clinched back to back NFC South titles for the first time in franchise history. The Saints have also regained the top spot in the NFC after the Los Angeles Rams lost to the Chicago Bears. The Saints are Rams are tied at 11-2 but they hold the tiebreaker over Los Angeles.

Behind Drew Brees’ MVP caliber season, the Saints average 34.4 points per game on offense, the best mark in the league. However, they have scored just 19 points per game in their last two games. On defense, New Orleans is allowing just 21.8 points per game and their defense has played big in their last couple of games.

Despite a free fall that has seen them lose five consecutive games, all is not lost for the Carolina Panthers. With still three games left to play, the Panthers are still alive in the wild card race but with their fate no longer in their hands, they need to win out their remaining games and that means having to beat the Saints twice in three weeks with a game against the Falcons in between.

The Panthers score and average of 24.9 points per game but their offense hasn’t been consistent and Cam Newton is banged up. On defense, Carolina’s is allowing its opponents to score 25.5 points per game this season but only 21 points when they play at home. They will need their defense to step up for the.

The New Orleans Saints lead their all-time series 24-22 after the Saints swept the Panther las season by winning all three meetings including a 31-26 victory in the NFC wild card game. Monday’s matchup is their first of two in a three week period as these teams will play again on Week 17.

Drew Brees is having an MVP season and he has plenty of weapons at his disposal. But this game could really go down to who runs the football well. The Panthers have a lethal running back in Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey has scored 12 touchdowns in the last seven games, the most by any player during that period. However, with Cam Newton battling a sore shoulder, the Saints’ top rated rush defense should be able to focus on McCaffrey more.

The Saints are 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games played and are 6-1 ATS on the road this season. The Panthers are 0-5 ATS in their last five games played and are 4-2 ATS in six home games played this season. Head to head, the Saints are 6-3-1 ATS in their last 10 meetings.

The total has gone under in 8 out of the 13 games played by New Orleans this season. The under is 5-2 in the Saints’ seven road games played so far. The total has gone over in 7 out of the 13 games of the Panthers this season. The over is 5-1 in Carolina’s six home games this season. Head to head, the over is 7-3 in their last 10 games played.

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