Saints vs. Chargers Final Score Prediction for NFL Week 8 (New Orleans is Lost Without Derek Carr)

Iain MacMillan | 3 Hours Ago

Oct 13, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (18) reacts to throwing a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Saints season has imploded due to a couple of heartbreaking losses and a few injuries at key positions, none bigger than their starting quarterback, Derek Carr, who will miss at least one more game before returning to action.

Spencer Rattler will make his second straight start in his absence and will do his best to have a better performance than he had against the Broncos when New Orleans lost by a score of 33-10.

Meanwhile, the Chargers will try to get back on track after losing on Monday Night Football to the Cardinals. Can they get the job done against the short-handed Saints?

Let's take a look at the latest odds and then I'll predict the final score of this interconference matchup.

Saints vs. Chargers Odds, Spread, and Total

Odds via BetMGM Sportsbook

Spread

• Saints +7 (-105)
• Chargers -7 (-115)

Moneyline

• Saints +280
• Chargers -350

Total

• OVER 40.5 (-110)
• UNDER 40.5 (-110)

The spread has made a slight move in favor of the Saints. The Chargers were 7.5-point favorites earlier this week but they now sit as 7-point favorites after the half-point of movement. The total has increased half a point from 40.0 to 40.5.

Saints vs. Chargers Final Score Prediction

In this week's edition of the "Road to 272 Bets", I broke down why I think laying the points on the Chargers is the right move to make:

We saw what happened to the New Orleans Saints last Thursday night when they had to have their backup quarterback go up against an elite defense. It was an abysmal performance by New Orleans that ended in a Broncos rout. Well, we have the exact same situation in Week 8. The Saints are still not healthy and have to once again try to get some kind of offensive production against one of the better defenses in the NFL in Los Angeles.

Let's not forget the Saints' defense ranks dead last in the league in opponent yards per play, allowing 6.1 yards per snap.

When it comes to the total, I'm going to agree with the line movement and take the OVER. The Saints' defense has been bad enough that I think we'll see a Chargers offensive explosion for the first time this season. Rattler and the New Orleans offense can hopefully do enough to contribute to the score to help this go OVER the low total of 40.5.

Final score prediction: Saints 13, Chargers 32

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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