Saints vs Panthers Picks, Predictions, Odds | Monday Night Football Week 2

Michael Crosson Sports Betting Expert

4 minute read

The Week 2 Monday Night Football double-header kicks things off with a matchup that has the makings of a competitive NFC South division clash between the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers. Coverage begins from Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte at 7:15 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Here's everything you need to know about the Saints vs. Panthers Picks, Predictions, and Odds for Monday Night Football Week 2.

Saints vs Panthers Picks, Betting Prediction, Odds for Monday Night Football Week 2

In a NFC South division with three of four teams slowly rebuilding their rosters through the draft, the Saints are the only squad that appears to be truly focused on winning games with their veteran talent. The Saints have the second-oldest roster in the entire league with an average player age of 27-years and two-months, only behind the Jets (27-years and four-months).

The Saints clearly believe that they are ready to win now, and they doubled down on that notion by bringing in QB Derek Carr this past offseason, and truth be told, they should be able to make a run at the division crown if they can get the wheels churning on offense.

The Saints scored just 16 points in a win over the Titans in Week 1, which may seem a bit concerning heading into this one. But personally, I walked away from that game feeling much better about New Orleans than I originally felt entering the season.

The Titans tend to get overlooked due to their lackluster quarterback play. But aside from their passing attack, Tennessee is a really solid football team, and that was re-emphasized in Week 2 with a gutsy overtime win over the Chargers. The Titans posted back-to-back 11-win seasons in 2020 and 2021, and then opened last season 7-3 before getting ravaged by the injury bug and missing the playoffs. All in all, a really tough win for New Orleans out of the gate.

On the other side of that same coin, the Panthers selected QB Bryce Young with the first-overall pick in this year’s draft, and immediately inserted him into the starting lineup. So obviously, they expect some growing pains as he continues to develop. But after seeing Carolina get lit up by 18 points in Atlanta in Week 1, it’s already starting to look like the Panthers could be in the running for the top pick in the draft yet again.

Young completed just 20 of 38 pass attempts for 146 yards in his NFL debut last week, and he tacked on a pair of ugly interceptions to bottom out his day. I have no doubt that Young will be an excellent NFL quarterback someday. That’s why the Panthers selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. But based on what we saw last week, it’s going to be a bumpy ride for Young and company as the development process plays out. I’m backing New Orleans to get the job done on the road here.

Score Prediction: Saints 23, Panthers 13
Best Bet: Saints -3 (-110)

Saints vs Panthers Betting Resources

Date: Monday, September 18, 2023
Matchup: NFC South
Venue: Bank of America Stadium
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Time-TV: ESPN, 7:15 p.m. ET

Click here for Vegas Insider senior reporter Patrick Everson's full NFL Odds Week 2 Report containing spreads, lines, and trends for every NFL matchup.

New Orleans Saints Betting Analysis

Don’t let the abysmal struggles of Ryan Tannehill fool you into thinking the Saints’ Week 1 victory doesn’t mean anything, because the Titans are a good football team, and I’d be willing to wager that Tennessee goes 3-0 against the rest of the NFC South this season.

Now, don’t get it twisted. The Saints’ 16-15 victory over Tennessee in Week 1 certainly wasn’t pretty. But truth be told, that’s just how matchups against the Titans usually go. The Titans have become notorious for baiting teams into ugly low-scoring games, whether it be matchups against the Chiefs, the Texans, or in this case, even the Saints.

Mike Vrabel’s squad almost stole another close one last week, but credit to the Saints, they made all the right plays at the right times down the stretch, and that’s far more than you can say about Carolina’s all-around ugly performance in Week 1.

Carolina Panthers Betting Analysis

Personally, I think Panthers head coach Frank Reich gets a bad rap. Reich was a huge part of the Eagles Super Bowl team in 2017, leading Nick Foles to a title, and then he stepped in as head coach of the Colts and coached that disaster of a team to a 40-33-1 record and three winning seasons over four years.

So all things considered, I’m really excited to see what the future holds for the Panthers with Reich and Young steering the ship. But at this point and time, would I take a flier on them to beat New Orleans? No, Carolina still has plenty of work to do before catching up to speed with the veteran talent of the Saints. 

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Saints vs Panthers Betting Trends

• The total has gone UNDER in seven straight Saints' games.
• The Saints are 4-1 SU in their last five games.
• The Panthers are 8-4 ATS in their last 12 games.
• The total has gone OVER in four of Carolina's last six games.
• The Panthers are 7-13 SU in their last 20 games.
• The Panthers are 4-1 ATS in their last five home games.
• The Saints are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games against Carolina.
• The Saints are 9-4 SU in their last 13 games against Carolina.
• The total has gone UNDER in five straight matchups between the Panthers and Saints.

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Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson began his time at VegasInsider as a freelance NBA writer back in 2019 while he continued to study Psychology and Biology at James Madison University. Following his graduation in 2021, Michael joined the team full-time, and he's been with VI ever since. Michael still writes NBA, NFL, and MLB for VI, as well as gambling industry news. He's also become a crucial part of our editorial production team. More from Michael Crosson