Carolina Panthers vs. New Orleans Saints Odds, Wild-Card NFL Betting Pick

The New Orleans Saints (11-5) will go for their third win over the Carolina Panthers (11-5) this season as solid home favorites at the sportsbooks for Sunday's NFC wild-card matchup.

The Saints earned the NFC South title by sweeping the Panthers during the regular season, winning 34-13 at Carolina and 31-21 at home.

Point Spread: The Saints opened as four-point favorites; the total was 49 early in the week, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. (Line updates and matchup report.)

Betting Pick, Via OddsShark Computer: 27.8-17.4 Saints (NFL picks on every game.)

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Why Panthers Can Cover

Will the third time be the charm for the Panthers?

You have to go all the way back to 2012 to find the last time they dropped at least three in a row to New Orleans as part of a four-game series skid. Since then, Carolina has gone 7-5 straight up in the past 12 meetings, including the two losses this season.

The Panthers are an impressive 7-3 against the spread in their last 10 road games too, so they have that going for them.

Why Saints Can Cover

The Saints have become a much more balanced team offensively this season thanks to rookie running back Alvin Kamara and veteran Mark Ingram. That has helped take pressure off future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees, who is still capable of winning games on his own but no longer needs to all the time.

New Orleans held an edge in rushing offense in both meetings with Carolina, and that will not change here. The Saints will pound the ball against the Panthers again, and they have gone an impressive 5-0-1 ATS in the past six meetings, according to the OddsShark NFL Database.

Smart Pick

If New Orleans was still solely relying on Brees, Carolina might be worth a look. But the Saints have gone 6-2 ATS in their last eight games versus divisional opponents for a reason. Brees has a lot more support now, and that may end up getting him back to the Super Bowl.

Everything is set up for New Orleans to at least make it to the NFC Championship Game, and Brees is not getting any younger. Look for his teammates to play inspired football as the Saints win and cover.

Betting Trends

The Panthers are 0-5-1 ATS in their last six games against the Saints.

The total has gone over in six of the Panthers' last seven games against the Saints.

The Saints are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games versus divisional opponents.

All NFL odds and betting trends courtesy of Bleacher Report's official odds partner, OddsShark. Check out Twitter for injury and line-movement updates and the OddsShark YouTube page for picks and analysis, or download the free odds tracker app.