2017 NFC Playoffs Odds and Betting Preview of the afternoon Sunday game where the Carolina Panthers visit the New Orleans Saints.
2017 NFC Playoffs Odds – The Case For the New Orleans Saints
For the New Orleans Saints, it was a year of happy transition. This was a team that, for years, had been dependent on the arm of Drew Brees, and for some disappointing seasons, their defense held them back in a big way. But this year brought some change; not necessarily on the part of their quarterback, who continued to set records, but in the way this team approached its offensive game and revitalized itself on the defensive end. The result was a division title in the NFC South, which entitles this team to host a game in the NFC wild-card round against the Carolina Panthers, which will begin at 4:40 PM ET on Sunday at the Superdome in New Orleans. If you are a VietBet customer, you can place wagers in real-time using the facilities of Live Betting Ultra, and there is reduced juice before the game, giving you a lot of value in the NFL odds.
2017 NFC Playoffs Odds – Panthers vs Saints:
In the NFL odds and posted on Sunday’s game by the people at VietBet, New Orleans is favored by a touchdown:
New Orleans Saints -7 (+100)
Carolina Panthers +7 (-120)
Over 47.5 points -110
Under 47.5 points -110
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The Saints (11-5 straight-up, 8-8 ATS) made a major move in the off-season as they acquired Adrian Peterson, one of the best running backs of his generation. That was a sign that head coach Sean Payton meant business when he talked about establishing a ground game. Peterson never really worked out for the Saints, but that didn’t mean this team wasn’t going to do a lot of “ground and pound.” In fact, they have become about as good as anyone in the National Football League at running the football, behind a dynamic 1-2 punch in the backfield.
Rookies have been a big part of the story in the Crescent City. On offense, Alvin Kamara has taken the league by storm, with 6.1 yards per carry, 81 receptions and an invitation to the Pro Bowl. Also bound for that game (of course, unless the Saints make it to the Super Bowl) is first-year cornerback Marshon Lattimore, giving New Orleans possible winners of offensive and defensive rookies of the year.
One of the things you have to look at when you analyze his game is the fact that the Saints won both meetings between these teams, and rather convincingly. In the first encounter, they intercepted Cam Newton three times and they ran for almost 300 yards over the two games. They hope to take advantage of the inconsistency of Newton, the MVP of the league two years ago but this season the perpetrator of 16 interceptions, including three last week against the Atlanta Falcons, when the Panthers had an opportunity to win the NFC South but failed. In terms of consistency, there is no contest between the two quarterbacks; Brees once again set an NFL record for accuracy over the course of the regular season, completing 72% of his passes. Kamara and former Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram caught139 passes between them and ran for 1852 yards combined. The New Orleans offense was second in the league in points scored per drive, and to their credit, they protected Brees well, allowing only 20 sacks. With his 103.9 quarterback rating, Brees’ figure dwarfs that of Newton (80.7).
Styles may well determine the winner in this matchup, and if that is the case, is obviously an advantage to New Orleans, because aside from the absence of tight end Greg Olsen, who missed both meetings, we wonder what Carolina could possibly do different to change the outcome. Yes, they can certainly play some defense, but the Saints seems to have the antidote for that. And New Orleans appeared much more opportunistic in the stop unit, intercepting twice as many passes as the Panthers (20-10).
Let’s remember another thing, which is that teams with an opportunity to complete a three-game sweep in the playoffs over an opponent have succeeded 13 of 19 times. Now that they are well-rounded – in fact, about as well-rounded as any team in the NFL right now – we see no reason why the Saints can’t make a bona fide run at a conference championship.
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2017 NFC Playoffs Odds – The Case for the Carolina Panthers
Two years ago, the Carolina Panthers made it to the Super Bowl, after losing just one regular-season game. They’re obviously not as dominant an outfit in 2017, but what they did was good enough that if they had not stumbled in the season finale, they would have been champions of the NFC South. So now they have to go on the road in their quest for a return to the “Big Game.” That starts on Sunday at 4:40 PM ET against the New Orleans Saints at the Superdome, and while Fox televises it, Vietbet customers will have the opportunity to place wagers in real time, using the facilities from Live Betting Ultra.
Cam Newton did not have a great season, as he was intercepted 16 times. Perhaps some of that could be attributed to his off-season shoulder surgery, which at times prevented him from getting the ball down the field the way he wanted to. But he is still a guy who puts his body at risk, and he led this team with 754 rushing yards. There is no doubt about the fact that his ability to run with the football is an established component of this offense. We say that even more so, since it appears they aren’t getting a whole lot out of the running backs, namely Jonathan Stewart, who gained only 3.4 yards per carry. The hope was that rookie Christian McCaffrey, the first-round draft pick out of Stanford, could have contributed a little more in the ground game, but that was not to be, and McCaffrey’s major contributions came on the other end of Newton’s passes, as he snared 80 of them.
The Panthers come into this game with a record of 11-5 straight-up, which was good enough to tie for first place in the division. Unfortunately, since they lost both games against the Saints, they also lost the division tiebreaker. Carolina is a solid 9-7 against the football pointspread.
Because of Newton’s efforts, Carolina has actually gained more yards on the ground per game than the Saints have. And if you look at the performance they had in the two meetings this season, they averaged 5.4 yards per carry against the New Orleans defense. So it is not as if they can establish something in order to give their quarterback an opportunity to execute play-action. Obviously McCaffrey has been a valuable outlet from the backfield, and tight end Greg Olsen, one of the best in the business when healthy, will be in the fold after missing both games against the Saints this season. That should create a different dynamic right there. And let’s not minimize the contributions of Devin Funchess, who has quietly gained 840 yards in receptions, with eight touchdown catches.
Defensively, there are a lot of playmakers, and you start with linebacker Luke Kuechly. The Panthers had 50 quarterback sacks, including eleven from old pro Julius Peppers, and they yielded only 88 rushing yards per game. The Panthers allowed only seven rushing touchdowns over the course of the entire season.
They also don’t beat themselves a lot with penalties; in fact, their 83 citations is easily fewer than any other team playing in this opening round. That signifies good coaching, and if they can possibly avoid turnovers (and Newton gets a special emphasis here), they might be able to shorten the game and stay in it all the way to the end.
By Charles Jay
