Despite the fact that they both have losing records, the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers will be playing for first place in the NFC South, this week on Thursday Night Football.
New Orleans Saints (3-4) vs. Carolina Panthers (3-4-1), Thursday, October 30, 8:30 PM. ET. NFLN
After a disappointing 1-3 start, the Saints have bounced back by winning two of their last three games. They would have won three in a row, if they didn’t collapse in the final minutes of their game against the Detroit Lions in the final three minutes two weeks ago.
The Saints had their biggest win of the season on Sunday night, against the Green Bay Packers, who had won four games in a row, prior to the game against New Orleans. After allowing the Packers to score on their opening drive, the Saints defense did a good job the rest of the way, limiting the high powered Packer offense to three field goals and one touchdown the rest of the way. They also intercepted Aaron Rodgers twice, which was the first time he had thrown two interceptions in a game this season, and also the first interception he had thrown since week 1.
Offensively, the Saints had no problem moving the ball around; Drew Brees became the first quarterback to throw for over 300 yards on the Packers this season, and got a lot of help from Mark Ingram, who had 172 yards running the ball, against the suspect Green Bay run defense.
The Saints will need to put together a performance like that when they play Carolina, in order to win their first road game of the season, and take the lead in the NFC South.The Panthers have not won a game since October 5 against the Chicago Bears; they finished with a tie against the Cincinnati Bengals, and have lost two games in a row since then. They had a chance to extend their division lead on Sunday, and played very well against the struggling defending champion Seahawks. However, they couldn’t close out the game in the end, and allowed Russell Wilson to lead an 80 yard game winning drive at the end of the game.
Carolina’s offensive struggles continued, and they weren’t able to move the ball around effectively during the game, though part of that was because the Seattle defense played very well in the game. DeAngelo Williams was expected to return from injury, but they let him get an extra week to heal, so he should be back in the lineup on Thursday, and give a boost to their struggling running game.
The Panthers will need to take better care of the ball against New Orleans, because they turned the ball over twice. They only lost one fumble during the game, but they fumbled the ball four times, which affected their field position, and cost them some points.
Game Line: The Saints are favored to win the game by 2 points, the Over/Under is 48 points.
Personal Pick: The Saints are 0-4 on the road, and don’t seem to play up to their potential on the road, which will cost them the game.
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