Week 9 Thursday Night Football open thread: New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers

There's all to play for tonight as the top two teams in the NFC South clash to see which gets to be in sole possession of first place.  In the first of their two intradivisional contests, the 3-4 New Orleans Saints travel to sunny Carolina to face the 3-4-1 Carolina Panthers.

The Saints rebounded off a disappointing (for them as well as for us) late collapse against the Detroit Lions in Detroit two weeks ago by thrashing the Green Bay Packers at home, 44-23.  Their 3-4 record is perfectly split between home and away games; you have to go all the way back to November 21st 2013 to find their last regular season win on the road, at the hapless Atlanta Falcons.

The Panthers haven't won a game since the week 5 victory over... the Chicago Bears.  Since then they've gone on the road twice, drawing with the Cincinnati Bengals and losing to the Packers, and last week they were narrowly beaten at home 13-9 by the Seattle Seahawks.

The Saints come to Soldier Field in week 15 in their fourth and final game against the NFC North.

Keep calm and, as Schweickert would say, open thread responsibly.