Betting Picks

Saints at Panthers: MNF NFL Week 15 Betting Preview and Pick

It’s an NFC South showdown in the penultimate Monday night game of the 2018 regular season as the New Orleans Saints visit the Carolina Panthers. So, without further ado, let us now take a closer look at the Saints vs Panthers odds.

It’s quite unusual for division foes to meet for the first time this late in a season. They turn around and play again in New Orleans in Week 17. By Week 17, the Panthers may well be eliminated from the playoffs as they have lost five in a row since starting 6-2. It could cost head coach Ron Rivera his job, especially with new ownership.

Meanwhile, New Orleans has clinched a second straight NFC South title. However, they’re still battling the Los Angeles Rams for the NFC’s top seed. The Saints would win a head-to-head tiebreaker, but the Rams will be heavily favored to win the rest of the way.

Shoot, Carolina might have won the Super Bowl last year had it not been for New Orleans. The Panthers finished with six total losses, and half were to the Saints. That includes a 31-26 defeat in the wild-card round in the Big Easy. It is very rare to see one team in the NFL beat another three times in one year.

The Saints vs Panthers odds have New Orleans as a 6.5-point favorite for Monday night, but Carolina will be our against the spread pick. The total is 51.5.

Why Carolina will cover the Saints vs Panthers odds

Even the best of teams can play at an extremely high level for only so many weeks in a row. The Saints had the NFL’s longest winning streak this season at 10 straight, but haven’t looked sharp the past two weeks, losing in Dallas in Week 13 and then falling behind 14-3 at halftime last Sunday in Tampa before outscoring the Bucs 25-0 in the second half.

At 6-7, Carolina absolutely has to have this for any wild-card shot and probably any chance to assure Rivera keeps his job under new team ownership. The Panthers have been very good at home this season, with their only loss in the final seconds to a very good Seattle team. All of QB Cam Newton‘s numbers are better in 2018 at home than on the road.

New Orleans betting notes for Monday

While the Saints are NFC South champions again, they still have the carrot of a No. 1 seed in the conference, which they would earn for sure by winning out. The Saints and the Rams are tied at 11-2 and New Orleans owns the tiebreaker. The Saints would clinch no worse than the second seed with a victory (or tie) Monday and a Chicago home loss Sunday to Green Bay.

Is it time to worry a bit about 39-year-old QB Drew Brees? Entering Week 13, he was the NFL MVP favorite. However, the past two weeks he hasn’t topped 201 yards passing and has just one TD pass and one interception in each game.

Carolina vs. New Orleans line movement

The NFL odds for this game have seen books open the Saints at -6, while the total has dropped as much as 2.5 points.

Carolina vs. New Orleans matchup trends

• The Panthers are 8-3 ATS in their past 11 games at home.
• New Orleans has covered only two of its past seven on a Monday.
• Carolina is 5-2 ATS in its previous seven against teams with winning records.