Written by Rohit Ghosh
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NFL Wild Card Sunday: New Orleans Saints vs Carolina Panthers
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Wild card weekend continues Sunday with two more games on the NFL slate. Let's take a closer look at the matchup in New Orleans between the Carolina Panthers and Saints. New Orleans won both the regular season contests between the two sides.
Vegas Odds
There has been zero movement on the total since it opened at 48.5. Expect it to go up a bit as we get closer to the weekend, based on the public action so far.
Betting Line: New Orleans Saints -7
Total: 48.5
At the time of publication, the public was about 50-50 in terms of laying or taking the points.
65 percent of the action on the total has been on the OVER.
Betting Trends
• The Panthers are 6-3 against the spread (ATS) in their last nine games.
• The Panthers are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games on the road.
• The Panthers are 12-5 ATS in their last 17 games on the road vs the Saints.
• The Panthers are 0-4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs the Saints.
All of AccuScore's NFL picks
NFL Expert Picks – Wildcard Weekend
What to Watch For
Can the Panthers get to Drew Brees?: How one looks at this game is largely dependent on how you answer that question. If you're expecting Brees to do what he does best, then it's probably best to lay the points for NOLA. If you think the Panthers pass rush shows up Sunday, take the points and trust the defense.
Here's the thing. Carolina's actually been great in the red zone this year, holding opponents to about a 47 percent success rate -- top 10 in the league.
But, they also allowed 5.3 yards per play, just about middle-of-the pack thie season. They allowed close to a 64 percent completion, along with 11-plus yards per reception.
Brees Brees is projected to finish with 311 passing yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT. He averages over 3 times the number of TDs per sim than he does INTs.
The Carolina defense is projected to force 1-plus takeaway.Analyst's Pick
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