The New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers meet in week 2 NFL action from Bank of America Stadium on Monday Night.

Saints Edge Titans

The New Orleans Saints emerged out of week 1 with a narrow 16-15 win over the Tennessee Titans to start the year. Derek Carr threw for 305 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 23 of 33 passing while Jamaal Williams rushed for a team-high 45 yards on 18 carries. Chris Olave led the Saints with 8 grabs for 112 yards while Rashid Shaheed had 5 receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown and Michael Thomas had 5 receptions for 61 yards as well. On defense, Demario Davis had a team-high 10 total tackles while Carl Granderson had 1.5 sacks. Marcus Maye, Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo each had an interception for New Orleans’ defense in the winning effort.

New Orleans Saints Team Facts

– The Saints have lost four of their last five Week 2 games as road favorites.
– The Saints have failed to cover the spread in each of their last seven Week 2 games as favorites.
– The Saints have lost the first quarter in five of their last six Monday games against teams that held a losing record.
– The Saints have scored the first touchdown in each of their last four games against NFC opponents.
– The Saints have lost the first half in four of their last five games as slight favorites (<-3.5 points).

New Orleans Saints Player Prop Facts

– Jamaal Williams ranked 1st in the NFL in Rushing Touchdowns (17) last season

Panthers Fall Short Vs. Falcons

The Carolina Panthers fell flat in their season opener, losing to the Atlanta Falcons by a final score of 24-10. Bryce Young threw for 146 yards, a touchdown and 2 interceptions on 20 of 38 passing while Miles Sanders rushed for a team-high 72 yards on 18 carries and Chuba Hubbard had 9 carries for 60 yards in the loss. Hayden Hurst led the Panthers in receiving with 5 grabs for 41 yards and a touchdown in the losing effort. On defense, Derrick Brown had a team-high 9 total tackles and a sack while Brian Burns had 1.5 sacks and Frankie Luvu had a sack as well in the losing effort.

Carolina Panthers Team Facts

– The underdogs have won eight of the Panthers’ last nine games at Bank of America Stadium.
– The underdogs have covered the spread in eight of the Panthers’ last nine games at Bank of America Stadium.
– The Panthers have scored the first touchdown in each of their last five Monday games.
– The Panthers have won the first half in seven of their last eight Week 2 home games.
– The Panthers have won the first quarter in four of their last five September games as home underdogs.

Carolina Panthers Player Prop Facts

– Miles Sanders ranked 2nd in the NFC for Rushing Yards (1269) last season

Matchup/League Facts

– The Panthers ranked 29th in the NFL in yards per game (306.2) last season
– The Panthers ranked 29th in the NFL in passing yards per game (176.2) last season
– The Saints ranked 1st in the NFC South for points allowed per game last season (20.3)
– The Saints ranked 1st in the NFC South for average point differential last season (-0.9)

Chris’ Pick

I’m sticking with the Saints here. It’ll be interesting to see how the Saints fare heading out onto the road, but I’ve already started selling my stock in this Panthers team as I didn’t like what I saw in the preseason and that carried over into week 1. Maybe they’ll be fine down the road, but for right now, I have to put the Panthers on auto-fade. I’ll side with the Saints who have shown me more, especially on defense after week 1.