Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas
The final week of the NFL season brings divisional matchups across the board and one of those games is a contest between NFC South opponents in the Big Easy. It’s a clash between the Carolina Panthers and the New Orleans Saints as both teams finish up their regular season slates Sunday afternoon. Carolina was defeated 30-24 on the road by Tampa Bay last Sunday, failing to cover the line as a 3.5-point underdog. New Orleans beat Philadelphia 20-10 on the road last Sunday, winning outright as a 6.5-point underdog. In the all-time regular season series between the teams, the Saints own a narrow 28-27 advantage but it was the Panthers claiming a 22-14 win at home in the first matchup this season back on September 25, 2022.
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Carolina played their way back into the playoff picture thanks to the NFC being a dumpster fire but their loss to Tampa Bay last week extinguished their hopes. The Panthers fell to 6-10 on the season and hope to finish the year on a positive note for interim coach Steve Wilks. Against Tampa Bay, Carolina led 7-0 after the opening quarter and 14-0 midway through the second only to see the lead trimmed to 14-10 at the half. The Panthers went up 21-10 just 10 seconds into the fourth quarter before giving up 20 unanswered points to trail 30-21 with 1:58 to go. They would kick a field goal with 59 seconds remaining but failed to recover the onside kick, dashing their hopes. Carolina was outgained 478-400 in total offense, beaten 25-22 in first downs, lost the time of possession by a 33:10 to 26:50 margin and turned the ball over three times while logging just one takeaway in the game.
For the season, the Panthers enter week 18 28th in the league in passing offense with an average of 185.3 yards per game through the air and 12th in rushing offense by grinding out 127.4 yards per contest. Carolina is 18th in the league in scoring offense as they average 21.1 points per game while they are 22nd in the league in scoring defense by allowing 22.9 points per contest. Baker Mayfield completed 119 of 206 passes for 1,313 yards with six touchdowns and six interceptions while getting sacked 19 times this year. He added 52 yards and a score on the ground as well before being released last month and subsequently signing with the Rams. PJ Walker is 63 of 106 for 731 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions plus 39 rushing yards while Jacob Eason was three of five for 59 yards and an interception. Sam Darnold, who missed a large chunk of the season after suffering an ankle injury in the preseason finale, has hit on 77 of 125 passes for 1,100 yards with seven scores against one pick while adding 74 yards and two scores on the ground.
The departed Christian McCaffrey remains third on the team in the ground game as he ran the ball 85 times for 393 yards plus two scores. Chuba Hubbard (74 carries, 397 yards, two TD) and D’Onta Foreman (191 carries, 846 yards, five TD) have taken over those duties in his absence. In the passing game, DJ Moore leads the team with 62 grabs for 878 yards and seven touchdowns on the year. McCaffrey contributed 33 receptions for 277 yards plus a score while the also-departed Robby Anderson (13 receptions, 206 yards, TD) along with Shi Smith (22 catches, 296 yards, two TD), Laviska Shenault Jr. (26 grabs, 264 yards, TD), Terrace Marshall (26 grabs, 467 yards, TD) are also over the 200 receiving yards mark this season. Eddy Piniero is 29 of 31 on extra points and 32 of 34 on field goal attempts with a long of 54 on the year.
It’s a light i njury report for the Panthers at this point in time. Defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis (back) was the lone player to not take part in practice Thursday. Linebackers Joel Iyiegbuniwe (hamstring) and Chandler Wooten (ankle), along with tight end Stephen Sullivan (elbow) were each limited Thursday. Watch for updates on their statuses heading closer to kickoff.
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