The New Orleans Saints (3-4) travel to what could be a vital game in the NFC South, as the Carolina Panthers (3-4-1) prepare to the host their divisional rivals.

Both sides are looking to top the division with a win in this game, despite both only going to an equal win to loss ratio if they win this game. The NFC South has been extremely poor this season, with no one team above .500. The Panthers top the division at 3-4-1, the Saints are trailing second at 3-4, the Atlanta Falcons whose head coach Mike Smith is reportedly very much on the hot seat sitting ugly on 2-6 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who are considered one of the worst teams in the NFL this season are trailing only 2 wins behind the division leaders.

But neither sideline will be thinking about this as they take to the field this coming Thursday evening. The Panthers know the Saints will be a serious problem for them after their 44-23 beating up of the Green Bay Packers, who were unable to cope with Drew Brees who enjoyed 27 completions for 311 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. The standout of the evening however was running back Mark Ingram who was handed the ball 24 times throughout the evening, running for 172 yards and a touchdown against a Green Bay rush defense who was known for giving up loads of yards a game to opposing running backs. On the other side of the ball the Saints showed that they can compete with the best of offenses, with three turnovers and four sacks. Rodgers was picked off twice on the night, both from tipped passes.

The Carolina Panthers however are coming off a very tough and hard fought 13-9 loss to the reigning Super Bowl Champions, Seattle Seahawks. The Panthers led the game for the majority but a late touchdown pass by Russell Wilson grabbed the victory for the Seahawks. Both sides only recorded one takeaway each in the game as the offenses really struggled to get going.

It is clear that both sides are struggling but it is arguable that the Saints have the momentum coming into the fixture since the Panthers are only top thanks to a highly entertaining draw against the Bengals a few weeks back and have played one more game than the traveling side. The true reason the Panthers won so many games last year was quite frankly thanks to the hard work ethic of the defense. The hard working and hard hitting defense, were able to shut many teams out of games. But this year the defense isn’t making plays like it did the previous season and due to this the offense of the Saints will reap the rewards. With a quarterback as talented as Brees with multiple receiving options; Jimmy Graham who caught a touchdown this week, Brandin Cooks the rookie hauled in another touchdown but you can’t forget about Colston and Stills. Away from the passing game Ingram will be looking to have yet another huge game on the ground as the Saints expect to be too strong for a fellow struggler.  

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