Despite slow starts, Panthers and Saints play Sunday for first place in NFC South

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Never mind the Carolina Panthers’ three-game losing streak, or that the Saints dropped five of their first seven games this season.

At noon Sunday (Nov. 15) in Caesars Superdome, they play for the division lead.

The Panthers (3-5) and Saints (3-5) will battle for sole possession of first place in the very forgiving NFC South, and the inside lane to capturing the home playoff game that comes with winning the division.

The Saints have won two of their past three games, but only narrowly escaped with a 23-22 overtime victory against Cleveland last Sunday that came down to the Browns’ do-or-die 2-point conversion attempt.

Saints second-year quarterback Tyler Shough, whose first and fifth wins as an NFL starter came at Carolina’s expense last season, said that while the Saints must be mindful of how close they came to losing last week, they also must seize the opportunity before them.

“It’s significant, because of obviously the situation that we’re all in,” Shough said. “Every win, every single game, matters.”

Bolstering the Saints’ offense Sunday is the expected return of lead running back Travis Etienne, who has been activated off the injured reserve list and is available for the first time in seven weeks. And rookie wide receiver Jordyn Tyson could see more volume after making his NFL debut last Sunday.

“We’ll certainly add a healthy dose more,” Saints coach Kellen Moore said of plays planned for Tyson, who had four catches for 30 yards last Sunday, but also lost a fumble inside the Cleveland 5-yard line on his first NFL reception. ”It’ll start feeling more like a normal volume moving forward.”

Etienne hasn’t played since Week 3, when he injured his left hamstring in a game against the Las Vegas Raiders. New Orleans’ top free-agent signing (four years, $48 million) has contributed just 128 rushing yards on 30 carries thus far in three appearances.

Given his team’s sub-.500 record, Moore has largely avoided exuberant rhetoric about the Saints’ playoff prospects, instead warning that there is a lot of work to do during the club’s next nine games.

But he also billed Sunday’s game as an “awesome opportunity.”

“We understand the journey we’re on — and this is an important one,” Moore said. ”But we’ve really got to build off of last week.”

Meanwhile, Panthers coach Dave Canales said this week he also was excited about several players returning from injury. Chief among them, wide receiver Xavier Legette (knee) was activated off injured reserve and outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips (hamstring) also is expected to play.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence in this locker room and the guys we have here,” Canales said. “It’s just going to come down to us playing together -- all three phases -- and having that solid football product that we’re looking for Panthers football.”

Panthers quarterback Bryce Young is 1-5 against the Saints since coming into the league in 2023.

Oddsmakers have the Saints favored to win by 1½ points. New Orleans leads the all-time series with Carolina, 34-29.

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