Fansided

NFL lines, Week 13: 5 best bets

By John Buhler

CINCINNATI, OH - NOVEMBER 26: Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon (28) carries the ball during the game against the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals on November 26th, 2017 at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, OH. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - NOVEMBER 26: Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon (28) carries the ball during the game against the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals on November 26th, 2017 at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, OH. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 26: Andrus Peat No. 75 , Zach Line No. 42, Terron Armstead No 72, Ryan Ramczyk No. 71 and Drew Brees No. 9 of the New Orleans Saints huddle during the second half of a game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 26, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 26: Andrus Peat No. 75 , Zach Line No. 42, Terron Armstead No 72, Ryan Ramczyk No. 71 and Drew Brees No. 9 of the New Orleans Saints huddle during the second half of a game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 26, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

New Orleans Saints (-4) vs. Carolina Panthers

I’ve fallen into somewhat of a trap of taking bad teams with bad quarterbacks getting a lot of points. So yes, swallow the four points at home to take the New Orleans Saints over the division Carolina Panthers would be out of character for me, but I really like the Saints in this spot.

New Orleans is coming off a close loss on the road to the Los Angeles Rams. Carolina narrowly put away the New York Jets on the road in East Rutherford. Drew Brees played well, but Cam Newton was terrible in Week 12. Though Carolina has proven to be a solid road team this year, the Saints are a different animal playing at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

This game will be for the division lead. Though the Saints beat the Panthers earlier this season in Charlotte, can we seriously expect Newton to keep pace with Brees in a shootout on Sunday? The Saints should be able to put up over 20 points on the Panthers defense very easily. It’s doubtful that Newton will be able to put up over 30 against an excellent Saints team on the road.

Carolina might make it interesting late by forcing a turnover, getting a short field and getting some points in a potential 14-point swing. That being said, New Orleans feels like a team of destiny, while the Panthers uses momentum to beat bad teams. This will be one of the better games of the week, but the Saints have this.

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