The New Orleans Saints (11-4) will look to clinch the No. 2 seed in the NFC with their 12th victory on Sunday when they visit the Carolina Panthers (5-10) as solid road favorites at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. A loss would send the Saints down to the No. 3 seed in the NFC if the Seattle Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers.
- Date/Time: January 3, 4:25 p.m. ET
- Stadium: Bank of America Stadium
- TV Coverage: Fox
- Sportsbook Odds: Saints -6 | O/U 51 (Line History)
- Saints vs Panthers Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The point spread has ticked up slightly to New Orleans -6.5 in a game the team needs to win in order to have home-field advantage in the first two games of the postseason. Of course, that has not translated to a Super Bowl appearance the last few years for the Saints when they have earned that distinction.
But the thinking here obviously is that it is better to have home field than not – with or without fans. Meanwhile, Carolina ended a three-game losing streak last week with a 20-13 win at Washington, covering the spread for the fourth time in five games, so it is also clear this team still has some fight left.
New Orleans News & Notes
Will this finally be the year New Orleans gets back to the Super Bowl? Saints quarterback Drew Brees does not have much left in the tank, and he likely would have to go through Green Bay’s Lambeau Field to get to Tampa for the big game this year.
The weather in Charlotte should not be a factor in this one, but Brees needs to get comfortable playing outdoors at this time of year because his last shot at a Super Bowl might come down to that.
New Orleans is in a solid position to play its first two games at home, though, and staying healthy is also very important right now. The Saints lost linebacker Kwon Alexander for the rest of the season last Saturday with a torn Achilles tendon, and they need to be careful managing the load for running back Alvin Kamara, who tied an NFL record with six touchdowns in last Friday’s 52-33 rout of the Minnesota Vikings.
Carolina News & Notes
Before beating Washington, the Panthers had lost their previous three games by a combined 14 points. The only really disappointing result over that stretch was their effort vs the Denver Broncos, a 32-27 loss as 4-point home favorites in Week 14.
Carolina has been competitive with quarterback Teddy Bridgewater under center in 2020, and he knows his opponent well since he served as the backup to Brees last season.
In the first meeting back in Week 7, the Panthers lost 27-24 but covered the spread as 7-point road underdogs, with Bridgewater throwing for 254 yards and two touchdowns. The numbers for Brees in that game were slightly better, although Kamara and Latavius Murray did some damage on the ground with 130 yards on 25 carries.
Betting Pick: Panthers +6.5
Carolina played New Orleans tough in the first meeting on the road, so there are not enough good reasons for me to think this team cannot do the exact same thing at home in the regular-season finale (other than a few interesting situational betting trends).
Despite their straight-up record, the Panthers took a positive step forward this season under new head coach Matt Rhule, going 9-6 against the spread in his first year there.
- The Panthers are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 divisional home games.
- The Saints are 6-1-1 ATS in their last 8 games.
- The OVER is 11-2 in the past 13 meetings.
