Carolina (7-6) at New Orleans (3-10)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EST, Fox.
BetMGM NFL odds: Panthers by 3.
Against the spread: Panthers 8-5, Saints 5-8.
Series record: Saints lead 33-29.
Last meeting: Saints beat Panthers 17-7 on Nov. 9, 2025, at Carolina.
Last week: Panthers had a bye; beat the Rams 31-28 on Nov. 30; Saints beat the Buccaneers 24-20.
Panthers offense: overall (23), rush (10), pass (25), scoring (28).
Panthers defense: overall (18), rush (17), pass
(18), scoring (15t).
Saints offense: overall (26), rush (28), pass (21), scoring (30).
Saints defense: overall (12), rush (23), pass (6), scoring (21).
Turnover differential: Panthers even; Saints minus-5.
CB Jaycee Horn. His five interceptions are tied for second most in the NFL. He'll be eager to see if he can add to that against a rookie QB in the very stadium that his father, former Saints receiver Joe Horn, once called home. Horn had two interceptions in the first half of his last outing in Week 12 game against San Francisco. He missed the following week against the Los Angeles Rams with a concussion.
QB Tyler Shough. The rookie is showing he can make plays as a passer or runner. He ran for touchdowns of 34 and 13 yards in last Sunday's victory over Tampa Bay.
Carolina's Horn is bound to spend much of the game covering Saints No. 1 receiver Chris Olave, a Saints first-round pick in 2022 who leads the club with 76 catches for 811 yards and five TDs.
Panthers: Horn and LB Claudin Cherelus are expected to clear the team's concussion protocol following the bye week. ... C Cade Mays returns after missing two games with an ankle injury. His return means Austin Corbett moves back to right guard. ... LB Christian Rozeboom (hip/hamstring) is also expected back after missing two games.
Saints: RB Alvin Kamara (knee, ankle) and S Justin Reid (knee) and reserve OT Asim Richards (ankle) missed practice this week, while RT Taliese Fuaga (ankle) returned to the field on a limited basis after sitting out last week.
The Saints have won the last two meetings in New Orleans. The Saints are 16-13 against Carolina in the Superdome. A Saints-Panthers game has been decided by eight or fewer points 30 times with each team winning 15 of those. The last time these teams met in New Orleans, the Saints recorded the largest victory margin in series history, winning 47-10. Since then, the Saints have changed coaches from Dennis Allen to Kellen Moore and changed QBs from Derek Carr to Shough.
The Panthers enter tied with Tampa Bay atop the NFC South Division. ... QB Bryce Young completed 15 of 20 passes (75%) for 206 yards and 3 TDs for a 147.1 rating in Week 13. ... RB Rico Dowdle had 79 scrimmage yards (58 rushing, 21 receiving) in Week 13 and has 70 or more scrimmage yards in three straight games. ... Dowdle has 929 yards rushing this season and needs 71 more for his second consecutive 1,000-yard season. ... RB Chuba Hubbard led Carolina with a season-high 124 scrimmage yards (83 rushing, 41 receiving) and caught a TD pass in Week 13. ... WR Tetairoa McMillan had his sixth TD catch of season in Week 13, tied for the most among rookies this season. His 826 yards receiving ranks first among rookies. ... McMillan has a TD catch in each of his last three games. ... WR Jalen Coker had a team- and season-high 74 yards receiving and his first TD catch of this season in Week 13. ... LB D.J. Wonnum had his first fumble recovery of the season in Week 13. ... LB Trevin Wallace had six tackles and a tackle for loss in Week 13 and has a tackle for loss in each of his last two games. ... DT Derrick Brown had a sack, a pass defensed and his first forced fumble of season in Week 13. He had nine tackles and a tackle for loss in these teams' Week 10 meeting. ... CB Mike Jackson returned an interception for a TD in Week 13 and has three interceptions this season. ... S Nick Scott had nine tackles and his first interception of the season in Week 13. ... Rookie S Lathan Ransom led Carolina with a season-high 11 tackles and had his first sack of the season in Week 13. ... The Saints' Shough completed 13 of 20 passes (65%) for 144 yards passing and to go with his 55 yards rushing. His 34-yard TD rushing was the longest by any Saints QB. ... Shough joined Archie Manning as the only Saints QBs to rush for 50 yards and two TDs in a game. ... RB Alvin Kamara, who has missed the Saints' past two games, has 7,250 career yards rushing and 4,948 career yards receiving, putting him in range of becoming the first NFL player with 5,000 career yards rushing and receiving. Kamara had 115 scrimmage yards against Carolina in Week 10. ... Rookie RB Devin Neal led New Orleans with 70 yards rushing and scored his first career TD rushing last week. ... Olave is one of six receivers this season with 50 or more yards receiving in 10 games. ... Olave had 104 yards receiving against the Panthers in Week 10. ... WR Devaughn Vele led the Saints with 40 yards receiving in Week 14. ... TE Juwan Johnson had 92 yards receiving and a TD catch in Week 10 and has caught a TD pass in two of his past three vs. Carolina. ... LB Demario Davis led New Orleans with seven tackles last week and has at least that many in each of his past seven games. ... DE Cameron Jordan has 128 sacks and 747 tackles since 2011. ... CB Alontae Taylor had his second interception of the season last week. ... CB Kool-Aid McKinstry had a team-high seven tackles and a pass defensed in Week 14.
Dowdle has been a monster producer in fantasy football this season, but his production could be on a downward slope with Hubbard looking healthy again. In fact, Hubbard outgained Dowdle 83 yards to 58 in Carolina's last game against the Los Angeles Rams.
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