2024 NFL Picks, score predictions for Week 1

Carolina Panthers @ New Orleans Saints

Sunday, September 8, 1:00 PM ET

This particular matchup is one of the top contenders for dud of the week when it comes to overall intrigue. The first thing that really stands out when you think about the Carolina Panthers right now is whether or not Bryce Young is going to be able to excel under new head coach Dave Canales.

Canales has worked miracles with a couple of quarterbacks in recent years, helping Geno Smith turn his career around completely with a Pro Bowl season in Seattle in 2022 and then helping Baker Mayfield earn a $100 million contract this offseason after his work last year in Tampa Bay.

It’s no wonder the Panthers hired him to be their head coach after Bryce Young’s struggles as a rookie, which got Frank Reich and his staff fired. Panthers ownership saw the work CJ Stroud was doing with the Texans and simply couldn’t believe their hand-picked staff seemingly got that one wrong. But there’s still time for Bryce Young…this season, at least.

The Panthers are going on the road to face a Saints team with major question marks on the offensive line, at quarterback (long term), and apparently still with Alvin Kamara. The Saints were a top-10 team last year in terms of scoring offense and scoring defense, but they beat up on a lot of bad teams late in the season. 

New Orleans is understandably favored by four points at home in this game and I think they have the veteran presence to be able to hold off a young Panthers roster, but Carolina could surprise some people this season if Bryce Young ends up taking steps forward. 

Will we see those steps taken right away this season? I could see this game going either way but I’ll take the Saints at home.

Prediction: Saints win 20-16