SAINTS TOP PANTHERS TO MOVE TO 8-0

The New Orleans Saints spotted the Carolina Panthers a 17-6 halftime lead before roaring back in the second half to earn a 30-20 victory.  Saints’ QB Drew Brees finished with 330 yards and a touchdown against one interception.  The Saints are now 8-0 for the first time in franchise history.  The best season opening run prior to this year was a 7-0 start for the defensively tenacious 1991 Saints under head coach Jim Mora.  The Panthers dropped to 3-5 on the year with the loss.

NFL football betting enthusiasts who took the Panthers as +12 road underdogs were rewarded with the pointspread cover.  Carolina is 3-5 ATS but has covered two straight.  The Saints have dropped two straight to the number after covering six straight to open the season.  The 50 combined points just managed to stay UNDER the posted total of 51.  New Orleans has gone OVER in five of eight games this year while Carolina evened their NFL totals mark at 4-4.

After the contest, Brees put his team’s 8-0 start into historical perspective:

"That's great. I mean, 1967 until now and we're the only Saints team to have done that. That's really special. I feel like we've got a special group of guys, a special team, and certainly we're not satisfied with just being 8-0. We have what it takes to just continue to win."

Coach Sean Payton is pleased that his team finds a way to win games even when not playing their best football:

"I'm encouraged with the fact that we've been able to win a few of these games and we haven't played our best football. I don't know we're paying a lot of attention to where this [record] at the halfway point compares to past teams. There hadn't been a real rich history here in regards to successful football."

Brees agreed with his coach’s thoughts:

"The more that you win games like this, the more confidence that you gain, the more that you feel like no matter what situation that you're in, you're going to be able to win the game. No matter what the deficit, no matter how bad things might have gone, you just feel like you're going to come back and you're going to do it."

Carolina’s Jake Delhomme, who is struggling through a miserable season, could at least take solace from the fact that he didn’t throw an interception.  Otherwise he was lamenting what went wrong:

"It was very disappointing. We came very close to getting the touchdown with that pass to DeAngelo."

The Saints have a great shot at extending their winning run with games against two of the NFL’s worst teams in the coming weeks.  On Sunday, they’ll travel to St. Louis to face the Rams.  The Saints are a -13’ road favorite with the total set at 50.  They’ll travel to Tampa Bay to take on the lowly Bucs the following Sunday before a big game against the New England Patriots on Monday, November 30. The Panthers will host the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday, with Carolina a +1 home underdog and the total set at 43’.  They’ll then play at home again after a short preparation week on Thursday, November 19 against the Miami Dolphins.