Panthers at Saints: What to expect, prediction and best bets in Week 7
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers at Saints: What to expect
It might take a little bit of time for the New Orleans Saints to find their groove following their bye week. If the Carolina Panthers want to take advantage of this, they have start as they mean to go on.
They’ve gotten off to some good starts in recent weeks, but this wasn’t evident against the Bears and played a leading role in their demise. Every game the Panthers have lost this season has come from bad openings and something similar in New Orleans is going to be a problem.
The game is obviously four quarters. But what happens during the opening 15 minutes will decide the contest.
If the Panthers can generate some early momentum and give their defense something to aim for, it should bolster their chances of causing an upset against a team that does have some problems in their secondary that could be exploited.
There is a flip-side to this coin. If the Panthers fall behind in New Orleans it is going to be immensely difficult to overcome, especially given how well Alvin Kamara is running the football through their first five games of the season.
It’s unlikely there will be any surprises from an offensive scheme perspective given the familiarity between the two sides. So it might just be a case of which side has the most talent and, more importantly, who comes up with big plays when it matters most.