Saints vs. Panthers Week 17 Prediction
The Saints have secured the NFC South crown but are still in the mix to earn a first-round bye in next week’s wild card round with a win over the Panthers. Is New Orleans a safe bet to roll against its struggling divisional rival?
Game Snapshot
113 New Orleans Saints (-13) at 114 Carolina Panthers (+13); O/U 44.5
1:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, December 29, 2019
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
According to our NFL Public Betting Chart page, the Saints are drawing 58% of the betting tickets ahead of tonight’s game.
New Orleans Saints Fantasy Spin
Drew Brees (thumb) wasn’t listed on the Saints’ final injury report. Brees and his No. 1 WR Michael Thomas (hand) are each good to go for the team’s Week 17 matchup against the Panthers. The only question is just how much they’ll need to pass against the Panthers’ atrocious run defense. Still, Brees figures to air the ball out however much is need to get the win, as the Saints would benefit greatly from a seeding perspective with a W in their regular season finale.
Carolina Panthers Fantasy Spin
D.J. Moore (concussion) is out for Week 17 against the Saints. He was concussed in last week’s loss to the Colts. The Panthers will also be without Shaq Thompson, who is battling an ankle injury. The first receiver drafted in 2018, Moore was phenomenal in his sophomore campaign, breaking out for an 87-1,175-4 receiving line on 135 targets. Much of his production came without Cam Newton, who was lost to a Lisfranc injury in Week 2. Curtis Samuel, Jarius Wright and Chris Hogan will have to pick up the slack in Moore’s absence Sunday against New Orleans.
New Orleans
The Saints are winless against the spread in their last four meetings with the Panthers but the road team is 5-2 against the number in the last seven meetings between the two teams.
Carolina
The underdog is a near-perfect 10-1 against the spread in the last 11 meetings between these two teams.
NFL Week 17 Prediction
There’s nothing I’m going to write from Carolina’s side that will give anyone confidence that the Panthers can will this game outright. That said, even though Will Grier struggled mightily last week in his first career start, the value for bettors when it comes to this matchup is with Carolina. When a road team is favored by double digits in Week 17, they’re 9-2 straight up but 2-9 against the spread. Brees and the Saints have a tendency to play a step slower in outdoor road games and I envision this game being lower-scoring. For whatever reason, the Panthers tend to give the Saints issues. I’m grabbing the points.
NFL WEEK 17 PREDICTION: CAROLINA PANTHERS +13.5