Did anyone have the Carolina Panthers in the hunt in the NFC South through six weeks? What if you found out that Christian McCaffrey has been sidelined with a high-ankle sprain? Well, that is the reality and they could continue to impress with a win over the New Orleans Saints.

Unfortunately, the Panthers were knocked back down to Earth in Week 6 with a 23-16 loss to the Chicago Bears. The loss snapped their three-game winning streak. Teddy Bridgewater was exposed by a good defense in Chicago, but the feelings could change with a win in this one.

The Saints are coming off a bye week and it came at a good time after an overtime win over the Los Angeles Chargers. The Saints’ offense has still looked off. That is because Michael Thomas has still not returned from his injury. That could happen in this one. Thomas would take pressure off of Alvin Kamara and open up other options like Emmanuel Sanders.

This will be a better game than originally expected. The Panthers have overachieved and the Saints have not put it together just yet.

Here are five bold predictions for this NFC South matchup.