Play: New Orleans Saints
Rating: 10*

Two teams that cost us a large chunk of change with a pair of late hiccups last Sunday. I still like what I saw from the Saints in their loss to Denver better than Carolina's effort when it let a 14-point fourth-quarter lead evaporate in a 20-17 loss to Kansas City. The Saints beat the Panthers 41-38 on Oct.16, and I'm taking the points on the visitors here.

The 3-6 Panthers are nowhere near as strong as they were last season, but the bookmakers are still asking them to ask spreads above the key numbers. While the Panthers are 2-6-1 ATS on the season, the Saints have often been underrated and are a solid 6-3 ATS which includes a 4-0 ATS record on the road. Drew Brees is having a terrific year under center and is NFL second-best with 2,992 yards, and he has a solid 24/7 TD/INT ratio. Carolina's Cam Newton has been underwhelming, throwing for 1994 yards, just 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Overall an edge for Carolina on the defensive side of the ball, but that didn't help the Panthers in the first game when Brees torched them for 465 yards and four touchdowns. We can also note that the Saints are a plus-2 in turnover ratio while the Panthers are minus-7 (fourth-worst in NFL).

Saints are 4-1 ATS in their last five head-to-head meetings, and I'm looking for the Saints to cover the spread again Thursday night.