Here is who national experts are predicting will win Panthers-Saints game
The New Orleans Saints are 11-4 and have a chance at home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs with a win. The Saints could also be the first team to finish 6-0 in the NFC South.
So the Panthers should face a fully engaged New Orleans team, though star running back Alvin Kamara won’t play after he tested positive for COVID-19.
At 5-10, Carolina is looking to end the season with a win over its big rival, although that win would probably knock the Panthers out of a top-10 draft pick.
Here’s what NFL experts think about Sunday’s game:
▪ The Observer’s Scott Fowler thinks the Panthers will protect their draft pick. He predicts Saints 30, Panthers 23.
▪ Over at Pro Football Talk, Michael David Smith and Mike Florio are picking Drew Brees’ team:
Florio (31-17 Saints): “The top seed remains a possibility, enough of one to get the Saints to go all out in an effort to capture it.”
David-Smith (28-17): “The Saints still have a chance at home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, and they’ll take care of their end.”
▪ Sports Illustrated has six “Monday Morning Quarterbacks,” and all six pick the Saints. All three experts at Athlon Sports pick the Saints, as do all 10 experts at SB Nation.
▪ Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com has Saints winning 27-17.
”Matt Rhule has helped four offensive players top 900 yards from scrimmage this season, and none of them are named Christian McCaffrey,” Rosenthal writes. “That’s a sign this Panthers offense has overachieved, but it hasn’t looked as crisp down the stretch. The Saints’ lines on both sides of the ball should be able to control this game, even if Drew Brees doesn’t play all four quarters.”
▪ It was hard to find anyone picking the Panthers, but at Bleacher Report, while Gary Davenport and Brent Sobleski picked the Saints, Brad Gagnon called the upset.
▪ At College Football News, Clucko The Chicken, a real bird who has picked Carolina in the past, again likes the Panthers. Of the 12 experts picking, including Clucko, one other expert picked Carolina — Nick Shepkowski of Fighting Irish Wire.
This story was originally published January 3, 2021 at 6:10 AM with the headline "Here is who national experts are predicting will win Panthers-Saints game."
