The Carolina Panthers are 0-2 against the New Orleans Saints but can pull out a big win in round one of the 2018 NFL Playoffs.
The Carolina Panthers head into the 2018 postseason with an 11-5 record and turning around the mediocre season from 2016. The Panthers are one of the bigger underdogs in the playoffs and open their run against the New Orleans Saints. The Saints have defeated the Panthers twice this season but that hasn’t changed any expectations for the Charlotte-based organization.
The Saints’ powerful offense scored 65 points against Carolina, in spite of them having one of the top defenses in the league. At the same time, they were able to hold the Panthers offense in check, only allowing them to score 24 points of their own.
Historically, when the Panthers and Saints play the scoreboard has to put in overtime. With a chance to take a step closer to the Super Bowl on the line, fans and viewers should expect both teams to break out all the stops on Sunday.
Cam Newton’s play is imperative in every sense for the Panthers, and he’s had both some success and struggles against their NFC South rivals. What stands out the most is that in two games this year he hasn’t thrown for more than 200 yards in either outing.
Even though he has a strong competition percentage against the Saints at 64.2 percent, the Saints defense kept the Panthers from enjoying large gains with those receptions. Newton looked much more composed in the second outing as he was able to avoid the multiple turnovers,
The question will be how well Carolina’s run game plays to dictate the pace of action. Carolina earned a combined 244 yards on the ground, but the Saints controlled the clock in each game. Allowing Drew Brees and company to stay on the field only exacerbates their ability to put up a mass of points.
While the Panthers were able to put up good numbers on the ground in the two previous games this season, expect them to lean more heavily on the run game early and often; as long as they aren’t playing from behind.
Defensively, the Panthers have their work cut out for them. The Saints rushing game over-performed in both games against the Panthers; putting up 149 and 148 yards rushing. These are the two highest outings enjoyed by the Saints all season. Against other teams, the Panthers have a strong run defense that’s limited their opposition in this area.
Opposing defenses are averaging only 88.1 yards per game on the ground, but the Saints were able to exceed that with multiple big play gains. It will be interesting to see how the Panthers limit that during this vital playoff game.
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The Panthers have yet to defeat the Saints this season, but if they can pick up a big win in the NFC Wild Card round that’s the victory that will matter the most. The wholes that appeared in the rushing defense and overall ineffectiveness of Cam Newton are glaring holes from the first two games this year. While it’s easy to point those issues out on paper, the Panthers must find a way to fix these flaws if they are to make it to the next round of play.