The Saints' recent loss to the Cowboys and the Panthers having dropped five straight both admittedly have me a bit shook here, but I'm still going to go with New Orleans in a tough primetime road game. Carolina's five straight losses are not what I'm basing this off but rather how its defense has played in those games -- allowing an average of 30 points to offenses that do not compare to NO. Simultaneously, the Panthers' offense has been struggling against much worse defenses than the one being brought to Carolina on Monday. The Saints have to be looking inward after struggling to get their offense going in consecutive weeks, and they have a huge opportunity to get back on track and make a huge move toward locking up the all-important No. 1 seed after seeing the Rams fall on Sunday night. This should be a double-digit win for New Orleans and the start of some questioning Ron Rivera's future in Carolina.

I'm waiting for a Panthers +7 wager to come around again, but I'm already on the Over, which has happened the past three games these two have met and seven of the last eight. The Panthers have lost five straight (0-5 ATS) and the Saints have stayed Under in four straight, but this is all about Cam Newton in the spotlight of Monday night. Cam's an emotional dude and feeds off energy, and he's only lost once at home this season. He'll play well and they'll score enough to get Over.

This total has come way down and now there's a lot of value on the Over. In my simulations, the Over is hitting 64 percent of the time.

No longer operating in fifth gear, the Saints’ offense bears responsibility for four consecutive Unders. The public has depressed the total from 54, which has resulted in the second lowest number for New Orleans all season — just one point above its meeting with defensively stout Baltimore. Carolina is doing its part to support an Over, having gone there five times in a row at home. With totals, 50 is the new 45, so this one is easily surpassable.

The Saints score 34.4 points per game, which ranks 2nd in the NFL. Because of this you may be surprised to learn that the Under has gone 8-5 in their games this season, and 6-2 in their last eight, including each of the last four. With Carolina's offense struggling, and so many people expecting this game to be high-scoring, it's a good time to go contrarian.

The Panthers are on a five-game losing streak, but they had to play four of those games on the road and the other they lost at the buzzer to a good Seahawks team. It seems like something might be wrong with Cam Newton, but he's really only struggled in the last two games, so it's possible he regains his mojo here. Drew Brees hasn't been lighting the world on fire lately either, as the Saints haven't passed for even 200 yards in any of their last three games. This is also their third straight road game, and they hope to have a long January ahead, so I wouldn't be shocked if we saw a lower-scoring, close game here.

New Orleans should win big. The Saints are back in control of the race for homefield advantage, and they're coming off a great second half in Tampa Bay last week. The Panthers miss Greg Olsen a lot. Cam Newton is not healthy. Lay the points.

Jump on this line before it hits seven. Back New Orleans to cover for the seventh time in the past eight meetings.