New Orleans Saints vs. Carolina Panthers: Bold predictions for Week 15

1. The Panthers playoff hopes are crushed

Despite being in second place in the NFC South, the Carolina Panthers aren’t the same team they were last year. Offensively, the team is playing as well as they always have, even with Newton experiencing shoulder pain. Defensively, the team has been terrible, including giving up big plays and essentially not allowing the offense to be able to rest or relax.

Most notably, the team has failed to manage their time. This issue has plagued them on both sides of the ball, especially last week against the Browns. The Panthers had a chance, but couldn’t finish the game. That’s been their biggest problem since the season began. That being said, the Panthers’ playoffs will be crushed at the hands of the Saints.

Their playoff chances were already slim after their losing streak, but the Saints are going to shut the door on a playoff run for them. Regardless of that, the game isn’t going to be a shootout after the Bucs gave the Saints trouble last week. Similar to how the Saints were for years, the Panthers have most of their strength on offense, so the Saints defense is going to struggle. No matter, the Saints offense is going to be too much for the Panthers defense to handle.

With a playoff run for the Saints, the Panthers are just a small step. Regardless of what happens, this game has the potential to be explosive. Even though I predicted that the Panthers are going to lose, they’re still going to play hard. Considering how amazing the Saints were in their last Monday night game, there’s no telling what will happen this time.