Carolina continues to keep the heat on the Saints. The Panthers have won 5 games in a row, their latest victims were the 49ers in San Francisco. That win alone let me know that the Panthers are going to be around until the end of the regular season at least. New Orleans has San Francisco at home this week while Atlanta travels to Tampa Bay.
Atlanta VS Tampa Bay
I’d like to be able to tell you what is wrong with Atlanta this year but it’s hard to narrow it down to one thing. Yes they’ve had injuries but so have a lot of other teams. Tampa Bay is Tampa Bay as much as I’d like to pick them to win, I’m picking Atlanta 14-10. If your one of the 27 people who are at the game, let me know if you can hear an echo in the stadium.
San Francisco VS New Orleans
The Saints owe the 49ers some payback for the last several times the two teams have met. For the Saints the biggest challenge will be against the 49ers defense which may not be ranked #1 statistically but they are solid at every position. That said I’m mostly concerned about all the injuries the Saints have on the defensive side of the ball. With Vaccaro out it’s a good thing that Jenkins and Harper are listed as probable. The front 7 will have their work cut out for them with the 49ers running game. I’m going with the Saints in a squeaker 27-24.
New England VS Carolina
This is one of those games where I need Tom Brady to be like….Tom Brady. Carolina is playing at home after silencing a lot of their critics, myself included, by going out to San Francisco and winning. Now, the face Brady. The Patriots are 2-2 on the road this season but they are coming off a bye week, so look for them to come out strong. I’m going with the Pats 31-21.
NFC South Standings
Team | Wins | Losses | Ties | GB | Points For | Points Against | Home | Road |
Saints | 7 | 2 | .778 | 0.0 | 265 | 163 | 5-0 | 2-2 |
Panthers | 6 | 3 | .667 | 1.0 | 214 | 115 | 3-1 | 3-2 |
Falcons | 2 | 7 | .222 | 5.0 | 186 | 251 | 2-3 | 0-4 |
Buccaneers | 1 | 8 | .111 | 6.0 | 146 | 209 | 1-4 | 0-4 |
Bill Stephens, SaintsGab writer, Follow Saints Gab on twitter @SaintsGab