The New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers both got wins to start their season to keep up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South. Here, these teams will play their first division game of the season, with the chance to gain a crucial leg up on one another early in the year. In this edition of NFL betting picks, we look at Saints vs Panthers in Week 2 from Charlotte, North Carolina.
Saints vs Panthers Betting Pick
This game will be played at 1:00 PM ET at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday, September 19, 2021.
Why bet the Saints:
✅ This line hasn’t gone far enough to adjust to how good Jameis Winston was in Week 1. The Saints are the better team on both sides of the ball and should assert their dominance over the Carolina Panthers to the tune of their fifth straight win over Carolina.
✅ Both teams allowed under 4.5 yards per play to their opponent in Week 1. But the Saints did that against the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers, while the Panthers were only tasked with stopping the Jets. With that Jets team starting a rookie quarterback in his first career NFL start, their defensive performance was far less impressive than that of New Orleans.
✅ In each of the last two seasons, the Saints have beaten the Carolina Panthers by double digits in Carolina. The Panthers were arguably better at the quarterback position in each of those two games, and the Saints should take advantage of that situation here.
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints put together the most impressive performance of Week 1 this NFL season when they destroyed the Green Bay Packers by a final score of 38-3. In that game, the big story was the defense of the Saints, which limited Aaron Rodgers to 133 passing yards and two touchdowns. The Saints forced three turnovers in the game, setting Jameis Winston and the offense up for success.
Speaking of Winston, the new Saints’ starter threw five touchdown passes in Week 1. More importantly, he did not commit any turnovers, which had been his Achilles heel back when he was the quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If he can play another clean game against the Carolina Panthers, Winston and the Saints could cruise to a 2-0 start in 2021.
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers didn’t play the most impressive game of football in Week 1, but they did enough to get the better of the New York Jets. New Panthers starter Sam Darnold threw for 279 yards and a touchdown, exacting revenge on his former team. But it was the defense for the Panthers that saw them through this game, holding the Jets to just 14 points.
New York was only able to gain 252 total yards against the Panthers in Week 1, with only 45 rushing yards coming from the Jets in the game. The Carolina run defense forced the Jets into passing situations, putting pressure on rookie quarterback Zach Wilson. Against the Saints, the Panthers will have to worry about a more potent opposing offense, and will have to bring their best if they want to go to 2-0.