Two weeks ago in New Orleans, the Saints put a whoopin’ on Carolina, ending the Panthers’ eight-game win streak. The victory reestablished the Saints as the favorite in the NFC South and gave them control of their own destiny.

That changed last week, when Drew Brees and Co. laid an egg in St. Louis.

So the Saints/Panthers rematch this weekend, once again, has huge stakes. And this time it’s in Charlotte.

The 10-4 Panthers are 6-1 at home. And New Orleans is not the same team away from the Superdome. So does Carolina capitalize on its second chance at division dominance? Or do the Saints rise up against them again and reclaim supremacy?

Brandon Becker, editor at Cat Crave, and Bill Stephens, a writer with SaintsGab return to share their thoughts.

Bill Stephens, SaintsGab (Twitter: @SaintsGab)

WHY THE SAINTS WILL WIN:

Two weeks ago, the Panthers traveled to New Orleans and were beaten in pretty much every phase of the game, the final score was not as close as what was reflected on the scoreboard. My how things have changed in only two weeks.

For all intents and purposes, the playoffs start this Sunday for the Saints and the Panthers. Besides the NFC South title being on the line, the winning team will also be in position to claim the #2 seed in the NFC playoff bracket. It’s probably not “loser go home,” as the loser still likely retains a wild card spot.  But the advantage of winning the division and claiming the bye are great.

Much has already been written about the changes Payton has made on the Saints after the loss to the Rams last week. Every player on the Saints team received a wake-up call when kicker Garrett Hartley was released and LT Charles Brown was benched.

He said after the game on Sunday that there would be changes, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that Payton made changes just for the sake of shaking things (and players) up. The move to replace Brown was a long time in coming. He had the most penalties of any player on the Saints year to date, and nine of the 11 penalties were of the drive killing assortment (holding, hands to the face). So there was purpose to the benching.

Payton did not make the changes without thinking them through and the approach to the game will be well thought out, as well. Too much is on the line and the message to the players, if they didn’t already know it, is that you have to show up ready to play, whether it’s on the road or at home.

WHY THE SAINTS COULD LOSE:

To say Carolina has been on a roll is an understatement. Their game last week against the Jets was a must win game for them and they came through big time. They did what teams are supposed to do in that situation.

For Carolina to win they have to forget what happened in the Dome two weeks ago and concentrate on keeping their league leading time of possession offense on the field and keeping the Saints offense on the sideline.

On defense they will need to do a better job at covering receivers not named Graham than they did two weeks ago. Two weeks ago, Marques Colston came up with big play after big play while the Panthers defense was concentrating on not letting Jimmy Graham beat them.

PREDICTION:

This game isn’t going to be about which team is the most talented, or who the home team is, or even who has the best game plan. This game will be decided by the team that comes out with the biggest,  baddest junkyard dog mentality. The Panthers are playing for 1st place in the division, the Saints are playing to prove that they can win on the road and their season is on the line. It will be close but the Saints will win 24-21

Brandon Becker, Cat Crave (Twitter: @catcraveblog)

WHY THE PANTHERS WILL WIN:

After getting picked apart by Drew Brees two weeks ago the Panthers will have their opportunity to exact revenge against the Saints at home in one of the biggest games of the NFL season. They stand a good chance to do so, too. The Saints have lost two out of their last three with both losses coming on the road. It wasn’t that they just lost those games either. They weren’t even close.

Losing to Seattle is understandable, but the way St. Louis handled New Orleans really makes you question this team outside of NOLA. The key to the last meeting was the Saints’ ability to buy time for Brees to pick apart the Carolina secondary. With the Panthers being backed by the home crowd, the Saints starting a rookie left tackle who hasn’t played a single snap outside of special teams this season and the fact that Cam Newton is a much better quarterback statistically at home it’s hard to see them giving this one up.

WHY THE PANTHERS COULD LOSE:

Brees is good enough to exploit the Panthers’ weaknesses again. He not only has the weapons, but he has the presence in the pocket to get rid of the ball quickly. Carolina plays a lot of soft coverage, which works when the pass rush delivers but when it doesn’t it is going to lead to the other team picking up chunks of yards. The Panthers have been stout for much of the season, but when a team has moved the ball on them they have tightened up against the red zone. That wasn’t the case against the Saints last meeting. With Jimmy Graham and Marques Colston, the Saints have the perfect combination of big bodied receiving threats that have always given Carolina trouble. Even with a rookie starting at left tackle those concerns in Carolina’s secondary are still there, and Brees is smart enough to know he has to get the ball out quick.

PREDICTION:

I took the Panthers to beat the Saints last time and I’m sticking with them again. The Saints’ loss to the Rams opened the door for Carolina to take the division lead with a win and it’s hard for me to the Panthers laying another egg against a division rival. Bank of America Stadium is going to be rocking and while the Panthers haven’t played their best football these past two weeks I see them rising to the occasion on Sunday. PANTHERS 34, Saints 17

Zoneblitz’ Take: I took Carolina two weeks ago and couldn’t have been more wrong. The Saints took control of that game early and never let go. I don’t have any idea what to expect this week. I took Carolina in our picks segment. So I’ll stick with that here. But if the Saints get off to an early lead I think they’ll be able to tee off on Cam Newton as they did in the earlier meeting. It’ll be low-scoring and physical. I’ll call it 17-16 Carolina.