The New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers will both be trying to pick up a win on Thursday when they battle at Bank of America Stadium.
New Orleans Saints vs. Carolina Panthers
When: 8:25 PM ET, Thursday, November 17, 2016
Where: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
TV: 8:25 p.m. ET, NBC, NFL Network.
LINE: Panthers -3.5. O/U: 52
Prediction: Panthers 27, Saints 24
Oddsmakers currently have the Panthers listed as 3½-point favorites versus the Saints, while the game’s total is sitting at 52.
Newton has plenty of weapons at his disposal as he tries to exploit a Saints defense that is yielding an NFL fourth-worst 400.6 yards per contest. Kelvin Benjamin looks to atone after his costly fumble led to the Chiefs’ game-winning field goal with another strong outing versus New Orleans, against which he reeled in eight receptions on 14 targets in the first meeting. Fellow wideout Devin Funchess had a touchdown reception on Sunday against Kansas City and also had a 17-yard catch for a score in the first encounter with the Saints. Greg Olsen had six catches for 94 yards in the first meeting with New Orleans and leads all tight ends with 50 receptions and 712 yards receiving.
Carolina lost its last outing, a 20-17 result against the Chiefs on November 13. The Panthers failed to cover in that game as a -3-point favorite, while the 37 combined points took the game UNDER the total.
Team record: 3-6 SU,2-6-1 ATS
Carolina is 1-5-1 ATS in its last 7 games
Carolina is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games
Carolina is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
Brandin Cooks enjoyed a career day in his previous encounter with Carolina, highlighting his career-high 173-yard performance with an 87-yard touchdown. The lengthy score began a string of four touchdowns in the last five games for the 23-year-old Cooks, who leads the team with six TDs and 694 yards receiving. Fellow wideout Michael Thomas leads rookies in catches (51), receiving yards (613) and touchdown receptions (five), but was held to his lowest yardage total (40) on Sunday and also lost a pair of fumbles – his first two of the season. Willie Snead, a former member of the Panthers’ practice squad, had two touchdowns on Sunday, marking the first time he reached the end zone since the first two weeks of the season.
In their last action, New Orleans was a 25-23 loser at home against the Broncos. They failed to cover the -3-point spread as favorites, while the combined score (48) was profitable news for UNDER bettors.
Team record: 4-5 SU,6-3 ATS
New Orleans is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
New Orleans is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
New Orleans is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
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