Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers are hoping the worst is over. Riding a five-game losing streak into their Week 15 Monday Night Football matchup with NFC South rival New Orleans Saints, the Panthers are still alive for a wild card spot, but they need to win a football game. A few weeks ago, Carolina was right there with the Saints and Rams in the conference, sporting a 6-2 record. Fast forward to now and the Panthers are struggling with their biggest nemesis standing in their way twice over the final three weeks of the season.
Watch this Week 15 regular season matchup live on Monday, December 17, 2018, at 8:15 p.m. ET at Bank of America Stadium.
Opening NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
New Orleans Saints -6.5
Carolina Panthers +6.5
Over/Under 51
Much like another high-scoring team in the league, the Saints have struggled over the past two games scoring a total of 38 points. The Rams have combined to score two fewer points than the Saints over that span. But we saw the Saints’ offense show signs of life in the second half of last week’s win over Tampa Bay.
New Orleans scored 10 points in a loss to the Cowboys the previous week and managed just 104 yards and a field goal in the first two quarters against a not-so-good Bucs defense. Many were wondering what happened to the offense? They did amass nearly 200 yards in the second half scoring three touchdowns and 25 points to come away with the win, clinching the division title in the process.
However, playing away from the Superdome has left the Saints explosive offense without a fuse. They average fewer points and yards on the road, despite their 51-point, 509-yard outburst in Cincinnati last month. It’s hard not to imagine the Saints having a letdown after clinching the division last week. We saw what happened to the Rams after they locked up the NFC West. They played the worst game of the Sean McVay era in a loss to the Bears.
Things probably won’t be that bad for the Saints and I fully expect them to score at least one touchdown against a Panthers defense that has been average at best this year. The play of the group cost defensive assistants Brady Hoke and Jeff Imamura. The team allowed Seattle to rack up 476 yards before the Bucs amassed 444 prior to the shakeup. There was some improvement last week with Ron Rivera in a more active role. Carolina only gave up 348 yards to the Browns.
For the last three games Drew Brees has failed to put up Brees-like numbers. His 201 passing yards last week was his highest total over the last three games and he’s thrown one pick in each of those games after tossing just one in the first 10 contests. It’s time for Drew to break out and he loves passing the football against Carolina. Brees tossed seven scoring passes in three victories last season and will get back in a groove with at least one on Monday night.
The Saints don’t need to rely on the strong arm tactics of Brees with a pair of running backs that chew up the yards. Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara have combined for over 1,300 yards on the ground and they will test the Panthers seventh-ranked run defense. However, Kamara is more of a threat out of the backfield and if the run game stalls, last year’s offensive rookie of the year will make up for it on the receiving end. Win a prop bet at BookMaker.eu by taking the over on Kamara’s total yards and you can piggyback him scoring a touchdown on that as well.
Not only do the Panthers need a win to keep their fading playoff hopes alive, they would like to beat the Saints after getting swept in three games last season. The team received a broom as a gift from an unknown person, magnifying their failure from last season. That little gesture got Cam Newton and the rest of the guys fired up.
Maybe that wakes Cam up after he was as responsible as any player for the five straight losses. Newton has thrown at least one pick in every game and eight total during the slide. Taking the ball out of Cam’s hands and giving it to Christian McCaffrey is a good move. The second-year player leads the team in rushing and receiving yards and will get plenty of touches with a chance to win a prop bet at BookMaker.eu for combined yards.
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