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TV Schedule: Sunday, Dec. 6, 4:25 p.m. ET on FOX
Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, La.
Line: Carolina (-7.5)
Talk about two teams headed in different directions. The 11-0 Carolina Panthers are fresh off of a 33-14 dismantling of the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day where the defense picked off Tony Romo three times and returned two for touchdowns. In addition, Thomas Davis re-fractured Romo’s collarbone on a sack early in the third quarter that ended his season. The 4-7 New Orleans Saints, on the other hand, are in the midst of a three-game losing streak that includes a 24-6 beating at the hands of the Houston Texans last Sunday.
While the Saints would seemingly be in better position to win during this matchup than in Week 3 with a healthy Drew Brees and playing at the Superdome, that’s not the case at all. Even after firing defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, the defense gave up 362 yards to the Texans last week, including 167 on the ground to one of the worst rushing offenses in the NFL. To make matters worse, Brees only led the offense to two field goals and the Texans’ defense held the Saints to 268 total yards. This is a team in total disarray and that’s not good when you’re about to play the best team in football.
What makes the Panthers the best team in the NFL is their ability to win in a variety of ways. A week after Cam Newton shredded the Washington Redskins for five touchdown passes, the Cowboys were able to hold Newton to 183 yards passing and zero passing touchdowns while only allowing the Panthers to gain 294 total yards. While it was a tremendous performance by the Cowboys’ defense, the Panthers’ defense was able to provide 17 points off of turnovers.
Typically, this would be a dangerous game for the Panthers as going into one of the loudest environments in the league is never easy, along with playing against a division rival. Fortunately, the Saints are so bad right now that it won’t matter. There’s no reason to believe the Panthers will lose this game.
Prediction: Carolina 37, New Orleans 24
Jason Fletcher is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonFletcher25, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+.
