It's incredibly difficult to defeat the same opponent three times in one season.Winning divisional games is always tough, and it's even tougher
Corey Davis Jersey to win them on the road. If the hadn't managed to do just that way back in Week 3, it's entirely po sible they wouldn't be hosting a wild-card playoff game this Sunday and trying to figure out a way to beat the for the third time this season.The Saints started the 2017 campaign 0-2, as their defense was torn to shreds by the and then the . Their offense failed to get untracked in those two games as well, and things were looking dark as they headed to Carolina for Week 3.But and company stepped up, ripping off 34 points against a Carolina defense that had allowed just six points combined in the first two games of the season. The New Orleans defense also showed the first signs of life, picking off three times and holding the Panthers to just 13 points in all. By the time the two teams met again in Week 13, they had matching 8-3 records. This time, the Saints had home-field advantage, and take advantage they did. Newton had a far better game that time around, but the running back duo of and proved too much to stop and the Saints came out on top, 31-21.Can New Orleans recapture the magic for a third time? We'll find out Sunday afternoon.How to
Ashtyn Davis Jersey WatchWho:Panthers vs. SaintsWhere:Mercedes-Benz SuperDome, New OrleansWhen:Sunday, Jan. 7, 4:40 p.m. ETTV:FOX The New Orleans offense is multi-dimensionalThe Saints may have gone 2-0 against the Panthers, but two very different Saints teams defeated their division rival, and did so in very different ways. Let's put it like this: was still a decent-sized part of the gameplan in the first victory. Remember when he was on the Saints? Yeah. It was a long time ago.That game was actually pretty close for a while, but then the Saints blew it open in about a 10-minute span of game time by doing something that served them well throughout the rest of the season: diversifying. In scoring two touchdowns and a field goal over the course of the final six minutes of the second quarter and first four minutes of the third quarter, eight different Saints touched the ball on offense. Mark Ingram, Adrian Peterson, Alvin Kamara, , , , , and all contributed, and New Orleans stretched a 7-6 lead to 24-6. The Panthers never got the lead back into single digits.The second game went largely the same way, as the Saints held a double-digit lead for more than 35 of the game's 60 minutes. Three different players ran the ball and eight different players caught it. The Saints didn't have Peterson for that game, but they made up for it by featuring Kamara in a much bigger role. New Orleans' star rookie had just five total touches for 42 yards in the first matchup between these teams. Since then, he's touched the ball at least 11 times in every single game except the one where he was injured after just six plays. He also absolutely tore
Breece Hall Jersey through the Panthers' defense in the second matchup, racking up 126 total yards and two touchdowns on 14 combined touches.Kamara stretching the defense horizontally allowed Ingram to fare far better running the ball, as he went from a 14-carry, 56-yard performance in the first matchup to 14 carries for 85 yards in the second. All the attention devoted to Michael Thomas in the pa sing game after he torched the Panthers secondary for 7-87-1 in Week 3 opened things up for underneath throws to Kamara, Ingram, Coleman, and . Thomas himself still went for 5-70-1 and looked pretty much unstoppable.No matter where the Panthers diverted their attention in either game against the Saints, they simply didn't have any answers. It's tough to see that changing this time around, even if the Panthers do have one of the 's best defenses. How much of a difference does a star tight end make?For the first time this season, the Panthers will have on the field when they take on the Saints. Olsen broke his foot during the Panthers' Week 2 win over the . The injury required surgery and kept him out until the team's Nov. 26 game against the , but he injured himself again in that game and didn't return until two weeks later against the Vikings. In between, he mi sed the rematch against New Orleans.Olsen really had only one game this season where he looked like himself: a 9-catch, 116-yard demolition of the in Week 15 -- a game that included his only touchdown of the season. In his other seven games combined, Olsen had just eight catches for 75 yards, and he didn't score in any of them.Olsen has long been Cam's No. 1 option in the pa sing game, so it's no surprise that their pa s offense lagged behind for much of this season. The emergence of as a perimeter weapon helped Newton on occasion and the team
Bryce Huff Jersey learned how to use as the year went on, but Olsen's ability to stretch the field vertically from his inline spot was an element of the team's offense that was definitely mi sing. In order to come away with a win against the Saints, Olsen will need to be his usual self. Funche s is a good po se sion option for Newton with his big frame and monster hands, and McCaffrey is always a safe release valve either out of the backfield or in the slot, but the Panthers will have to get downfield gains if they want to keep up with New Orleans in
New York Jets Hoodies Sweatshirts the SuperDome.Per Pro Football Focus, Newton was just 1 of 5 for 37 yards on throws at least 20 yards downfield against the Saints this season. That's where Olsen comes in. A quarter of Cam's deep completions over the three years prior to this one went to Olsen. Most of the others went to players that are no longer on the team, like , and, well, Ted Ginn Jr.Who ya got?The Saints are at home for this one, and they're favored by 6.5 points. With two double-digit victories over the Panthers already on their ledger, that number even seems a touch low. New Orleans moves onto the next round, riding the Ingram-Kamara backfield duo and Brees-Thomas connection to an 8-point victory. Final score: Saints 28, Saints 20
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