Panthers try to end Saints' 3-game win streak in finale
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (89) carries in the second half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Credit: AP/Matt Rourke
CAROLINA (6-10) at NEW ORLEANS (7-9)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NFL LINE: Saints by 3 1/2
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Panthers 8-8; Saints 7-9
SERIES RECORD: Saints lead 29-27
LAST MEETING: Panthers beat Saints 22-14 on Sept. 25 at Carolina.
LAST WEEK: Panthers lost to Buccaneers 30-24; Saints beat Eagles 20-10.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold is sacked by Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Anthony Nelson forcing a fumble during the second half of an NFL football game between the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) Credit: AP/Chris O'Meara
PANTHERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (27), RUSH (12), PASS (28), SCORING (18)
PANTHERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (22), RUSH (19), PASS (23), SCORING (22)
SAINTS OFFENSE: OVERALL (19), RUSH (19), PASS (16), SCORING (22).
SAINTS DEFENSE: OVERALL (10), RUSH (T21), PASS (3), SCORING (T12).
New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan (94) runs off the field after an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023. The Saints won 20-10. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Credit: AP/Matt Rourke
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Panthers minus-3; Saints minus-12.
PANTHERS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Sam Darnold threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns last week against Tampa Bay, but also turned the ball over three times, including twice on fumbles which led to 10 Buccaneers points. Those ended a personal streak of four games without a turnover. Darnold is 3-2 as a starter and is playing for his job in 2023, when he becomes a free agent.
SAINTS PLAYER TO WATCH: Undrafted rookie WR and KR-PR Rashid Shaheed has been increasingly involved in New Orleans' passing game in recent weeks, with 75 or more yards receiving in three of his last four games. The speedster out of FCS program Weber State has 25 catches for 454 yards and touchdowns of 53 and 68 yards in 11 games this season. He also has rushed for a 44-yard touchdown. Among NFL receivers with at least 25 receptions this season, Shaheed ranks third in yards per catch at 18.2.
KEY MATCHUP: Saints QB Andy Dalton vs. the Panthers' banged-up secondary. Carolina is without starting cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Donte Jackson, and gave up 432 yards and three long TDs passing to Tom Brady last week. Expect to see more of cornerback Josh Norman this week after Keith Taylor and C.J. Henderson struggled.
KEY INJURIES: The Panthers are unsure if they'll have DT Matt Ioannidis (back) and placed CB Jaycee Horn (wrist) on injured reserve Monday after being eliminated from playoff contention. ... Saints CB Paulson Adebo (hamstring) is not expected to play. S Marcus Maye (shoulder) missed practice time this week after missing last week's game. Others missing at least some practice this week were offensive linemen James Hurst (foot) and Andrus Peat (ankle), as well as tight end Juwan Johnson (quadricep).
SERIES NOTES: The Panthers have won two of the past three but New Orleans won the last meeting in the Superdome on Jan. 2, 2022. ... The Saints have a 14-12 record in the Superdome against the Panthers. Of 55 regular season meetings, 27 have been decided by eight or fewer points.
STATS AND STUFF: The Panthers are 1-6 away from home. ... Interim head coach Steve Wilks is 5-6 since taking over for Matt Rhule, who was fired after Week 5. ... Since being named the starter in Week 12, QB Sam Darnold’s 105.4 passer rating ranks third in the NFL behind Jared Goff (110.7) and Brock Purdy (106.4).. ... The Panthers' offense is 31st in third-down efficiency, converting at a rate of 29.8%. ... WR D.J. Moore needs 122 yards receiving for his fourth straight 1,000-yard season. Moore has four TD catches in his last five games. ... LB Frankie Luvu had a game and career-high 13 tackles with a sack vs. Tampa Bay, bringing him to a career-best 105 tackles and seven sacks this season. He joins Mark Fields (2002) as the only Carolina player with at least 100 tackles and at least seven sacks in a season. ... DE Brian Burns has 12 1/2 sacks and needs three more to break the team’s single-season record shared by Kevin Greene and Greg Hardy. ... DE Yetur Gross-Matos has blocked two field goals. ... The Saints are trying to win their fourth straight and avoid their first 10-loss season since 2005 (3-13), when the regular season was one game shorter. ... QB Andy Dalton needs 301 yards passing for his ninth-career 3,000-yard season. … RB Alvin Kamara has 1,278 scrimmage yards (791 rushing, 487 receiving) in 2022. He is the only player with at least 1,200 scrimmage yards in each of the past six seasons. Kamara has 429 career catches, third most by a running back in his first six seasons in NFL history. … WR Chris Olave ranks second among rookies in catches (67) and yards receiving (982). … Juwan Johnson ranks third among tight ends this season with a career-high seven TD catches. ... DE Cameron Jordan had three sacks and a forced fumble last week, his sixth career game with at least three sacks. Jordan took over the Saints' all-time lead in sacks with 115 1/2, surpassing the mark of Hall-of-Fame outside linebacker Rickey Jackson (115). Jordan is the sixth player since 1982 with at least seven sacks in 11 straight seasons. ... LB Demario Davis has 101 tackles in 2022, his eighth career 100-tackle season. ... DE Carl Granderson had 1 1/2 sacks in Week 17, giving him sacks in two straight games. ... LB Kaden Ellis has a sack in two of his past three games. ... CB Marshon Lattimore had his second career interception for a touchdown last week.
FANTASY TIP: Olave set career highs with nine catches for 147 yards against Carolina in Week 3 and has a chance to become just the third rookie in Saints history with 1,000 yards receiving, joining Marques Colston (2006) and Michael Thomas (2016).
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