The Saints don’t really need this game so the Panthers need to push them around early in this game letting them know that it’s going to be a very long day for them.  Look for the Panthers to lean on their running game as usual in this game as they are averaging 154.7 yards rushing and 4.8 yards per carry so far this season.  Jonathan Stewart could be in line for another huge game for the Panthers to end this season as the Saints are kind of soft in the middle on D.  The Panthers will be playing without Steve Smith in this game (broken forearm) but that doens’t mean that Matt Moore won’t take some shots downfield off play action.

Defensively I think the Panthers should key on stopping the run as I don’t see the Saints risking Drew Brees’ health by throwing the ball a lot.  Julius Peppers is likely to be pretty inspired in this game after being elected to the Pro Bowl during the week and that is bad news for Drew Brees and Mark Brunell. 

PREDICTION:  PANTHERS 27, SAINTS 17

This should be a good football game this weekend as the Panthers showed me something last week against the Vikings.  The Panthers will come out running the football with Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams (if he can play) against a Giants’ D that is allowing 99.8 yards rushing and 4.0 yards per carry.  The Panthers have been letting Matt Moore throw the ball more and their are big plays to be made in the passing game if the O-Line gives him time to throw the ball.  The Panthers’ version of Steve Smith could have a huge game this Sunday against a so-so secondary that the Giants have.

The Panthers are giving up 130.4 yards rushing and 4.6 yards per carry so they are likely going to have a long night dealing with Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw on Sunday.  If the Panthers can somehow hold down the Giants running game then they will have a good chance to win this game because they have a solid pass D.  The Panthers need Julius Peppers to have another big game which will help force Eli Manning into making some big mistakes.

PREDICTION:  GIANTS 24, PANTHERS 20

This will be a tough game for the Panthers as the Patriots are likely in a very bad mood after losing last week.  The Panthers will have a decent shot of making this game competitive if DeAngelo Williams can go this weekend.  Regardless, the Panthers will be leaning on the running game with Jonathan Stewart if Williams can’t go.  The Patriots are allowing 107.9 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry so their are yards to be had in the running game.  That’s good news because Matt Moore will likely have trouble getting the ball downfield in this game as the Patriots will no doubt be doubling Steve Smith.

The Patriots are going to come out throwing the ball to put pressure on the Panthers to get out of their gameplan on offense.  DE Julius Peppers has to get to Tom Brady in this game or it could be a long day for the defense.  The Panthers need to force the Patriots out of the passing game and that is almost impossible to do.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 33, PANTHERS 13

The Carolina Panthers (4-7) are hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-10) and will be without their starting quarterback Jake Delhomme (finger).  This may very well be a blessing in disguise for the Panthers, as Delhomme has been awful this season.  Matt Moore will be getting the start at quarterback, and he has a much better arm than Delhomme.  Moore hasn’t started a game in two years though, and has not had a very good career so far in the NFL.  Still, Panthers’ receivers are excited to play with Moore as he can throw the ball deep very well.  Moore will probably limited though, so Jonathon Stewart and DeAngelo Williams will need to have strong games.  Both backs are banged up though, and Williams (ankle) may not play.  The Bucs give up over 160 rushing yards per game though, so I don’t think it will matter too much who is carrying the ball.

The Panthers defense should not have too many problems with the Josh Freeman led offense.  Freeman, who is a rookie, has had his ups and downs this year, mostly downs.  The Panthers have a great pass defense, so they should be able to force the youngster into some turnovers.  They don’t stop the run very well though, so they need to be ready for Cadillac Williams and Derrick Ward to get a lot of carries for the Bucs.  This will probably be an ugly game, but the Panthers have much better defense so they should win pretty easily.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Carolina Panthers 21, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10

The Panthers have been up and down alternating wins and loss the last six weeks.  If that trend holds then they are due to win this week.  The Jets have been awful the last three weeks losing all three games by a combined score of 85-61.  The Panthers are going to come out running the ball so the Jets better tighten their chin straps.  DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart will be in a battle the whole game with the front seven of the Jets and ILBs David Harris and Bart Scott in particular.  The Jets are allowing 111.5 yards rushing per game (4.0 ypc) so far this season and the Panthers are averaging 159.1 yards rushing and 4.7 ypc this season so the Panthers should have some success on the ground on Sunday.  The Panthers probably will have QB Jake Delhomme in game manager mode on Sunday but they will likely still go up top a couple of times to Steve Smith who will probably be covered most of the game by Jets’ lock-down corner Darrelle Revis. 

QB Mark Sanchez has looked like a deer in headlights at times this season so the Jets will try to put him in conditions that he might succeed in this week.  That could mean a few more throws on first down than usual with Jerricho Cotchery being the most likely target.  Dustin Keller will be the guy that Sanchez looks for if he’s under duress from DE Julius Peppers and the rest of the Panthers’ D.  But the Jets have averaged 163.5 yards rushing per game (4.7 ypc) so they will take aim at a Panthers’ D that is allowing 130.7 yards rushing per game and 4.7 ypc.  That means that Thomas Jones will be the workhorse for the Jets on Sunday and that’s a good thing for the Jets’ O.

PREDICTION:  PANTHERS 17, JETS 13