What the ESPN FPI Says About the Panthers' Chances Against the Saints
Earlier in the year, the Carolina Panthers defeated the New Orleans Saints 26-7. In that game, the Saints were without a number of defensive starters due to injuries and it showed. Starting quarterback Sam Darnold completed 28/36 passes and threw for 305 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
This time around, both teams could be dealing with a number of players out as a result of being on the reserve/COVID-19 list. The Saints had as many as 20 players on the COVID list over the weekend while the Panthers started to see an increase in cases on Monday morning. There are a lot of unknowns in regards to who will actually be available for both teams but it is assumed that Darnold will get the start once again while Cam Newton will have a specified package to operate in short-yardage and goal to go distances.
As poorly as the Panthers have played over the past month and a half, this is a good opportunity to get back in the win column. New Orleans has not played well as of late and looked atrociously bad against the Miami Dolphins. In my eyes, this game is a toss up. In the eyes of the ESPN FPI, the Panthers only have a 33.7% chance to win. The Saints are given a 66% chance of winning.
Kickoff between Carolina and New Orleans is set for 4:25 p.m. EST.
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