The Carolina Panthers and their undefeated record travel to Louisiana to face off against a familiar competitor in NFC South rival, the New Orleans Saints. This is an important game for the Panthers because a win secures the division for the third year in a row. Even though they’ve put up 11 wins at this point in the year, the group is still open for consideration. Having a bye week and a home game in the playoffs is a massive advantage and Carolina needs to play great in order to win the division.
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Drew Brees is playing like the franchise quarterback he’s always been for the Saints, however he’s struggling when it comes to throwing interceptions this year. With a ratio of 20 touchdowns to 10 interceptions, the first compelling matchup of this game is whether or not he will be able to fight off this swarming defense that seems to go after every ball that’s in the air. Coming off of that low-scoring performance against the Houston Texans, one story is whether or not Brees will look to push the issue and “make-up” for that display.
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Carolina’s defense continues to excel due to its ability to force bad decisions. Even though they’ve racked up 33 sacks this year, it is their ability to force interceptions that has been critical in big wins. Even if the Saints had Brees as their starter, he’s struggled with throwing a number of picks this season which would give the advantage to the Panthers.
While the Saints have strength in putting up points and gaining a massive amount of yards each game, they need to because the defense has let them down multiple times this year. They are allowing an average of 30.8 points per game, which is dangerous against a Panthers team that is averaging 30 points a game. Even though a lot of their damage is done due to their defense, this offense has shown the ability to put up points through long, sustained drives which drain the clock for opposing offenses.
Expect the Panthers to continue their pressure via the running game. What will be interesting to watch is whether or not Cam Newton has many designed run plays. As the year has gone on, his number of intended rushing plays has decreased each game. His health is priceless to the team at this point in the year so expect a healthy dose of Jonathan Stewart and Mike Tolbert with a potential side of Fozzy Whittaker.
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This is a compelling game because what is on the line in the latter portions of the season. The Saints and Panthers have a storied history of back and forth years of controlling the NFC South. This time the matchup seems to lean towards the favor of Carolina, but crazier things have occurred on the field; especially when playoff berths are on the line.