Saints Slim Favorites in NFC South Showdown with Carolina

The New Orleans Saints will be aiming to reclaim the top spot in the underachieving NFC South when they visit the Carolina Panthers Thursday night as slim 2.5-point road favorites according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.

The 3-4 Saints have endured a brutal first half to their 2014 NFL campaign, winless on the road in their first four dates away from the Superdome. But led by quarterback Drew Brees, who has thrown a league-high 22 touchdown passes, the Saints have won two of their last three straight up and posted their first road win against the spread in Week 7, a last-second 24-23 loss in Detroit as 1.5-point underdogs.

Since opening the season with two SU wins, victories have been scarce for 3-4-1 Carolina, which takes a three-game winless streak into Thursday’s Saints vs. Panthers betting matchup at Bank of America Stadium.

But the Panthers are 2-2 SU at home, alternating between wins and losses, and have covered in three of their last four overall. The Panthers are also a solid 4-2 SU in their last six home meetings with the Saints, 5-1 ATS.

The Dallas Cowboys will look to bounce back from a stunning 20-17 overtime loss to last-place Washington when they face the Arizona Cardinals as early four-point home favorites according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.

The 6-2 Cowboys were the surprise story of the first half of the NFL season, riding a six-game SU winning streak to the top of the NFC East. Dallas’ SU loss to Washington was just its third when favored since the start of last season and dropped them to 5-3 ATS on the season.

The 6-1 Cardinals have climbed to the top of the tough NFC West with their only loss coming in Denver in Week 5. The Cards are 3-0 SU and ATS in their last three games—and posted SU wins in their last three against Dallas overall—but were SU and ATS losers in their last five visits to Big D.

In other Week 9 NFL betting action, the Philadelphia Eagles, who trail the Cowboys by half a game in the NFC East, travel to Houston as two-point road favorites against the Texans, per sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.

The Broncos visit the New England Patriots as three-point road favorites, while the Baltimore Ravens face rival Pittsburgh as early 1.5-point road favorites, and the streaking Miami Dolphins welcome the struggling San Diego Chargers as early 1.5-point favorites.