Panthers Sweep Saints to End Season

The Panthers finish the 2022 season with a 7-10 record.

NEW ORLEANS, LA - It may not have resulted in a playoff appearance but the Carolina Panthers ended the season strong winning four of its final six games, including a 10-7 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon. The win marks Carolina's first divisional sweep since 2017 and its first sweep of New Orleans since 2015.

Andy Dalton led a quick, 8-play, 75-yard scoring drive to open the game which would end up being their only points of the game. Dalton hit Juwan Johnson for a gain of 21 and then followed that up with a 25-yarder to Chris Olave for a touchdown.

Carolina's offense couldn't get anything and I mean anything going in the first half. They ran a total of eight plays in the first quarter and saw four of its last five plays or less, including a pair of three-and-outs. Ben McAdoo made it a point to run the football but there wasn't a ton of running lanes for his backs with guards Brady Christensen and Austin Corbett suffering injuries. 

Sam Darnold had a less-than-inspiring start, completing just 2/8 pass attempts for a grand total of four yards at the half.

After a miserable start to the game, the Panthers finally pieced together something offensively with a 14-play drive and were threatening to tie the game up in the final minute or at the very least get some points on the board. Unfortunately, Sam Darnold made a poor decision, throwing a deep ball into double coverage to DJ Moore that resulted in an interception by Tyrann Mathieu.

New Orleans quickly made its way down the field with their eyes set on making it a two-score game before the break. C.J. Henderson had other plans as he punched the ball loose out of the hands of wide receiver Chris Olave which was recovered by Xavier Woods, keeping the game 7-0.

D'Onta Foreman helped get the Panthers' offense going on the opening drive of the second half but he was unable to finish the drive as he and Saints defensive lineman Marcus Davenport were ejected for slapping each other in the head after a play. Chuba Hubbard picked up 22 yards on six carries, setting the Panthers up inside the five-yard line. Darnold pulled the ball on a read option, fumbled it on his way into the end zone, but was recovered by offensive lineman Michael Jordan to knot the game up at seven.

Both offenses struggled to find any rhythm after that score. Late in the fourth quarter, Darnold threw his second interception of the day on another underthrown go-ball to DJ Moore down the sideline. New Orleans had great field position but failed to do anything with it and had to settle for a 55-yard field goal attempt from Wil Lutz, which was hooked to the left.

Carolina took over at its own 45. A 13-yard scramble by Darnold and a 21-yard reception by Terrace Marshall Jr. set up the game-winning 42-yard field goal off the foot of Eddy Pineiro.

You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us on Twitter:

Facebook - @PanthersOnSI

Twitter - @AllPanthers_ and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.