The Carolina Panthers are 3-5 after three straight losses, but they play in the NFC South, so naturally that’s still good enough to lead the division going into Week 10. They currently sit in a tie with the New Orleans Saints, and both teams are a half game up on both the Falcons and Buccaneers. This Sunday will have a big impact on the race for the NFC South crown, particularly if the Panthers are able to win on the road in New Orleans.
The Saints are having a weird season, so it’s a game that’s ripe for the Panthers’ taking. They just need to control a few matchups to give themselves their best chance to win. Let’s look at what those are.
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Mike Jackson vs Chris Olave
Mike Jackson seems like he’ll be back in the lineup since he’s practiced in full so far this week. He walks right back into the fire against one of the better wide receivers in the NFL. Chris Olave got forgotten about a little bit after an injury plagued 2024 season and an up and down start to the 2025 season, but he’s thrived with Tyler Shough under center. He’s currently sixth in the NFL in receiving yards and has given the Panthers problems in the past. He went for 189 yards in two touchdowns in the two meetings between these teams last season. Mike Jackson and whoever else is tasked with limiting Olave are going to have their hands full. He’s the big play threat, and keeping him under wraps will go a long way to keeping the Saints offense under wraps.
Panthers offensive tackles vs Saints edge rushers
On paper, the Saints’ edge rushers are one the strengths of their defense. Cameron Jordan is still there, though he’s more of a prop than a standout player at this point of his career. Chase Young is actually good in New Orleans after busting in Washington, and Carl Granderson is pretty good in the rotation as well. The Panthers have had a lot of struggles on their offensive line, but the tackles have been a pretty consistent problem. The Saints pass defense as a whole is not that great, but that won’t matter if the edges are bearing down on Bryce Young all game. He needs Monroe Freeling and Rasheed Walker to hold up so he can take advantage of the Saints’ struggling secondary.
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Lee Hunter and the interior line vs Cesar Ruiz and Jeremiah Wright
The Saints lost their starting center Erik McCoy for the next few weeks. To fill the void at center, they’re kicking over starting guard Cesar Ruiz and starting rookie Jeremiah Wright at right guard. Ruiz has a little bit of experience at center, but he’s a guard by trade, so you wouldn’t expect him to be at his best at a new position. Wright is a fourth round rookie with just one start under his belt, so I’d like to he think he could be had as well. Lee Hunter was incredibly disruptive in limited snaps last week. Hopefully Dave Canales and Todd Wash figured out how to get him more snaps. He and the rest of the interior line have a chance to make some noise.
The Saints vs their own stadium
The Dome used to be one of the most intimidating places to play in back in the days of Drew Brees and Sean Payton. That’s gone by the wayside in recent years, and it seems to have reached a low point in terms of intimidation factor. The Saints had two big home events this year—the 20th anniversary of the Domecoming and some sort of Drew Brees honor night. They were beat down in both of those games. They’re 1-4 at home this seaosn with the only win coming in overtime against the Shedeur Sanders-led Browns last week.
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The Saints vs the first quarter
The Saints have scored 10 points in the first quarter all season long. They are last in first quarter scoring and 30th in first half scoring. The Panthers need to jump on the Saints early, which will also help amplify the struggles the Saints are having at home.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
