Panthers vs Saints Odds & Picks Week 1: Feisty Panthers

The Panthers are +4 road underdogs to their division rival, the New Orleans Saints, in a Week 1 contest that features two revamped offenses. The total in this game is set at 40.5 as oddsmakers are expecting a low scoring affair. These teams combined for just 71 points in their two games last season and we may see more of the same this year.

Carolina is transitioning to Dave Canales’ offense after he had success in Tampa Bay last year. The Saints offensive plays will be scripted by Klint Kubiak who hopes to bring some Kyle Shanahan influence after spending time as San Francisco’s passing game coordinator.

This game has extra importance for the Saints who have a brutal schedule stretch starting in Week 2 (@Dallas, vs. Philadelphia, @Atlanta, @Kansas City). If the Saints drop this one, they could easily start 0-6.

Panthers Vs Saints Odds Week 1

Carolina Panthers vs. New Orleans Saints, Sept. 8, 8:15 pm ET

As of August 29 at Caesars Sportsbook

Panthers Vs Saints Picks Week 1

Panthers +4 (-110)

Right now the only bet I’ve made on this game is Panthers +4 (-110) which is available at Caesars Sportsbook -- more on the total later.

Listen, I understand betting on the Panthers last year was like volunteering to get kicked in the pants as the Panthers finished the season 5-10 ATS. However, there’s hope that this year’s Panthers will be improved from last year and I have one monster concern with the Saints.

The New Orleans offensive line is as trustworthy as those emails in your spam folder requesting a credit card number. With Ryan Ramczyk (RT) out for the season, New Orleans pivots to Trevor Penning who was benched last year. At LT, rookie Taliese Fuaga starts, but he played RT in college and may not be 100% (back).

Eric McCoy is a solid center, but he’s flanked by Cesar Ruiz (51.2 PFF grade in 2023) and Lucas Patrick (50.5 PFF grade) who are turnstiles. I’m expecting the mobility challenged Derrick Carr to be a check down king in this one. Last season, Carr led the NFL with 20.7% of his passes being checkdowns according to FTNFantasy.com.

Bryce Young’s rookie season was a dumpster fire, but this year he’s playing behind two new expensive interior offensive lineman (Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis) and has several new weapons (Xavier Legette and Diontae Johnson).

Furthermore, Young will be getting plays calls from Dave Canales who is credited with reviving the careers of Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield. I don’t want to overreact to the preseason, but it’s worth noting Young looked comfortable in his only preseason action (6-for-8, 70 yards and a TD).

With Legette and Johnson getting extra attention, I like forgotten man Adam Thielen to thrive. The veteran notched 12 catches for 128 yards and a TD in two games vs. the Saints last year and he’ll matchup nicely with whoever New Orleans puts in the slot.

At nickel, New Orleans will either deploy rookie Kool-Aid McKinstry or Alontae Taylor, who led the NFL with 113 targets last season according to PFF. Advantage Thielen. With the Panthers having three decent receivers this year, they're built for a back-door-cover scenario. 

Panthers Vs Saints Prop Pick

Chuba Hubbard over 54.5 rush yards (-113)

Chuba Hubbard finished last season with four 86+ yards rush games in his last six contests, including one vs. the Saints. Since then the Panthers have made major upgrades to their offensive line (Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis).

The Saints defense features Nathan Shepherd in the middle. Shepherd is a decent pass rusher, but he had a miserable 30.3 run defense rating on 303 run defense snaps last season according to Pro Football Focus. With Khalen Saunders banged up, expect to see 6th round rookie Khristian Boyd trying to plug holes for New Orleans.

With Jonathan Brooks injured, I'm expecting 18-25 carries for Hubbard in this one. 

Panthers Vs Saints Betting Trends