New Orleans at Carolina

The Saints are finding out what it is like to be the team with the target on their back every Sunday. Every game they play, they get their opponent's A-game. That, combined with some normal regression to the mean for the Saints from last season, has combined for a New Orleans team that has lost three games and their dominant aura. Unlike last year, they have no running game right now and Drew Brees is throwing a lot of interceptions. Carolina has very little in the way of offense, but they have assembled a top-notch defense that ranks 4th in the NFL. The Saints have shown to have a lot of problems taking down sizeable pointspreads. In their last 12 regular season games as a favorite of -6 or more, they stand in at a woeful 1-11 ATS! They are also 0-6 ATS since last season vs. teams that score 17 or fewer points per game. The Panthers will be alive for this one and have a good pedigree as a home dog from +3.5 to +10 points as they are 13-6-1 ATS in their last 20. And, since last season, the Panthers are 7-0 ATS vs. prolific passing teams (those that pass for over 235 yards per game) and 7-0 ATS vs. winning teams. Carolina is the right side in this one.