NFL Monday Night Football Odds, Picks & Predictions: Saints vs. Panthers (Week 2)

Week 2 comes to a conclusion on Monday Night Football in an NFC South clash between the third-place New Orleans Saints and last-place Carolina Panthers.

Below, I will walk through my best bet to make for MNF.

Best Bet for Monday Night Football: New Orleans Saints vs Carolina Panthers

(Odds courtesy of FanDuel)

The new-look New Orleans Saints struggled mightily on the offensive side of the ball in the first half of last week’s game against the Tennessee Titans. Head Coach Dennis Allen made the adjustment at halftime to implement a run-heavy attack in the second half, which was more successful and helped lead the Saints to a 16-15 low-scoring victory.

I expect him to stick with what worked and go run-heavy once again against a Carolina Panthers team that struggles against running backs. A run-heavy attack is the game script we need for the Under, and that is exactly what is likely to happen once again for the Saints.

Meanwhile, New Orleans’ defense looked terrific against Tennessee. They did not allow a touchdown and intercepted Ryan Tannehill three times. This success was a continuation of last year as the Saints finished 10th in the league in expected points contributed.

Carolina also finished in the top half of the league in that same metric, and it also played in a low-scoring affair in Week 1 with a 24-10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. The Panthers have the recipe for low-scoring games this year with a rookie QB in Bryce Young and a defense that can hold its own.

There have now been 36 or fewer total points scored in each of the past four meetings between these divisional rivals, a trend that is likely to continue on Monday night with a run-heavy gameplan from New Orleans and a very capable defense going against a rookie QB.

Pick: Under 39.5 (-105)

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Tony Sartori is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Tony, check out his archive and follow him @tony_sartori.