Our Carolina Panthers vs. New Orleans Saints prediction takes a look at the Week 18 matchup that features a strong NFC South rivalry.
Let’s dive into the current NFL betting odds, key storylines to watch, and make a prediction for the game. Note that all odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook as of Tuesday, Jan. 3.
Panthers vs. Saints Odds
- Spread
Saints -3.5 - Moneyline
Saints -195, Panthers +165 - Over/Under
41.5 points
Panthers vs. Saints Prediction
The Panthers have certainly had an interesting 2022 season. It was just under three months ago that Matt Rhule was relieved of his duties as the Head Coach of the team after a 1-4 start and Steve Wilks took over as the interim Head Coach.
Shortly after that, the Panthers traded away Christian McCaffrey – their best offensive player – to the San Francisco 49ers, and it seemed as though they were going to be heading toward a massive rebuild.
Wilks deserves massive credit for his ability to keep the Panthers team engaged and fighting up until the very end. This team scratched and clawed their way to get to a spot where they were in a position to make the playoffs – through winning the NFC South – as recently as last week.
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Unfortunately, Carolina wasn’t able to hold off Tampa Bay last week as they lost 30-24 and fell to 6-10 on the season. The Panthers have now been officially eliminated from playoff contention, and their sights will turn to the 2023 offseason.
Will this be Wilks’ last game as the Head Coach of the Panthers, or will he get another chance to build on his impressive coaching campaign in 2023? Will Sam Darnold be re-signed, or is Carolina destined to trot out a rookie QB the next time we see them on the field?
Some massive questions are looming for Carolina as the offseason quickly approaches. If the Panthers’ objective is to draft an incoming rookie QB, losing this game – for better draft positioning – wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
As for New Orleans, they were able to pull off an impressive win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 17. While the Eagles were shorthanded at QB, it was still an impressive win over an incredibly well-rounded team, and the Saints were able to improve to 7-9 on the season.
Unfortunately, it was too late for the Saints to go on a three-game win streak, and they were officially eliminated from playoff contention despite their victory last week. A season marred by injuries at key positions plagued the Saints, and Dennis Allen wasn’t able to get his team into the postseason in his first year as Head Coach.
While this game carries no playoff implications and features two teams that are already eliminated, the Saints still have an incentive to win and build some solid momentum going into 2023.
The Eagles hold their first-round pick currently, so there are no NFL Draft implications for this Saints organization in Week 18. A win over a division rival this week to move to 8-9 on the season would be huge for building confidence in Dennis Allen and this roster moving into next season too.
We should see a Saints team come out ready to fight this week and extend their win streak to four games.
Panthers vs. Saints Score Prediction
Saints 21, Panthers 18