The Carolina Panthers will hope to avoid a second consecutive loss to the New Orleans Saints this season when the two teams meet in Thursday Night Football. Carolina, who played in the Super Bowl last season, find themselves in deep trouble this campaign and only a win will do if they are to keep their receding playoff hopes alive.
After losing a high-profile Super Bowl repeat opener to the Denver Broncos, the season hasn't really gotten much better for the Panthers, with Cam Newton's side going on to lose four of their next five games. That 1-5 start put them in a desperate situation and after going only 2-1 since, they find themselves bottom of the NFC South at 3-6.
The players are in no doubt over what's required against the New Orleans Saints in the TNF game.
"No question, we've put ourselves in a real desperate situation," linebacker Thomas Davis said. "The only people that can dig us out of it is us."
If the Carolina Panthers are to go to 4-6 for the season, they will need to stop the New Orleans Saints' main man – Drew Brees. The quarterback had a field day against the Panthers the last time these two teams met in October, throwing for 465 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-38 win.
The Panthers defense will need to play a lot better on Thursday. "Those guys just really had a day against our defense," Davis added. "For us, we take that personally. We've got to do a much better job defensively than we did the last time we faced them.
"Drew is a guy that flat out understands this football game. He understands they're going to do what they do regardless of who they're facing. It's all about when and how they do it. He understands our defense. He understands how we operate. We've got to do a good job on the back end of disguising things and not lining up and giving our looks away."
The Saints, who are just a run above Carolina at 4-5, are also desperate for a win, especially after coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Broncos.
Where to Watch Live
Saints vs Panthers is scheduled for an 8.30pm ET (1.30am GMT, 7am IST) start. Live Streaming and TV information is below.
India: TV: Sony ESPN HD. Live Streaming: Sonyliv.
USA: TV: NBC. Live Streaming: NBC Sports Live.
Canada: TV: Sportsnet 1. Live Streaming: Sportsnet Now.
UK: TV: Sky Sports 1. Live Streaming: Sky Go.
Australia: TV: ESPN. Live Streaming: Foxtel.
International: Live Streaming: NFL Gamepass.
