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Saints Claw Past Panthers

The Saints kept their season alive by knocking off the Panthers after an impressive defensive effort.

John Hendrix

NEW ORLEANS -- The Saints kept their postseason hopes alive going into the final week of the season after knocking off the Panthers 18-10 in the Superdome. The game was fueled by an incredible defensive effort, and New Orleans finally ended their end zone woes to improve to 8-8.

Game Recap

The Panthers started with the football after the Saints won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half kickoff. The first two plays were strong for the New Orleans defense, but Carolina picked up a groove to get a first down and kept cruising from there. Big plays of 17 and 21 yards on a well-executed screen and bootleg play led by Sam Darnold. The scoring drive was 12 plays for 61 yards, and ended with a 32-yard field goal by Lirim Hajrullahu to make it 3-0 with 8:05 to go in the opening quarter.

On their first offensive possession, New Orleans ended up moving the ball pretty well, and it was largely in part due to Alvin Kamara in the passing game. Taysom Hill found Kamara on a screen play that picked up 29 yards on the second play of the drive, and Hill later came back to him on a slant route that picked up 14 yards. The Saints were able to cash in points on the possession, as the 8-play, 52-yard drive stalled out later and ended with Brett Maher connecting from 41 yards to make it 3-3 at the 4:05 mark of the first quarter.

Carolina responded by putting a touchdown drive together that extended into early into the second quarter. The 10-play, 81-yard drive ended with Chuba Hubbard taking it on from 21 yards out to put the Panthers up 10-3 with 13:09 until the half. Hubbard also had a nice receiving play of 17 yards two plays prior, and then a 10-yard gain through the air with Ameer Abdullah.

The Saints ran a three-and-out on their next possession, and then made up for it defensively on the ensuing Panthers series. P.J. Williams, who got hurt briefly and who was on the sidelines during the Hubbard touchdown run, ended up forcing a fumble on a strip-sack of Sam Darnold that was recovered by Marcus Davenport. The Saints couldn't do anything with it offensively, but did capture another field goal after Maher hit from 27 yards to make it 10-6 with 8:41 in the second quarter.

The Saints responded again defensively, forcing another stop on the Panthers after Cam Jordan picked up his second sack of the game on Darnold to end the drive. For a brief moment, New Orleans got something going offensively, despite having trouble running the ball. Hill connected with Marquez Callaway for 30 yards on a 3rd-and-7 play, but that was about it for the drive, as they ended up punting back to Carolina with 3:38 left in the half after Hill got sacked on 3rd-and-12.

The New Orleans defense responded and rebounded after allowing a 15-yard run by Ameer Abdullah to start the next Panthers drive, forcing another punt and getting the ball back with 1:53 before the half. However, they started at their own 4-yard-line after J.T. Gray was called for two penalties on the punt. 

It looked like the drive was going to end in a punt from deep in their own territory, but Hill connected with Callaway for a 28-yard gain on 3rd-and-11 to keep the drive going. Hill followed that up by connecting with Lil'Jordan Humphrey for a gain of 18 yards with 33 seconds left. Three plays later, Hill found Callaway again to keep things going and move up to the Panthers' 36-yard-line with 13 seconds to go. He found Humphrey again for 9, and it led to Brett Maher's third field goal of the game, this time from 41 yards out to make it 10-9 at the half.

Second Half

As the Saints started with the ball, Taysom Hill started to heat up on the opening drive of the third quarter. He found Marquez Callaway and Deonte Harris in the passing game, which helped New Orleans move across midfield and get into striking distance at the Panthers' 25-yard-line. An intentional grounding penalty proved to be costly on a 3rd-and-8 from the 28, as it pushed the Saints back to the 39-yard-line, forcing a punt.

Carolina took over from their own 8-yard-line after the lengthy official discussion and eventual challenge from Matt Rhule that pushed the Saints out of field goal range, but the New Orleans defense responded by forcing a quick three-and-out. The Saints, despite good field position, also countered with a three-and-out of their own. The 3rd-and-6 play saw Hill almost get intercepted, as he and Callaway were not on the same page.

Taking over with 6:16 left in the third, the Panthers were once again stymied by the Saints defense, who forced another three-and-out. Good defensive plays by Christian Ringo, Marcus Davenport, and Malcolm Jenkins helped force Carolina off the field. New Orleans once again had excellent field position, and had some things going with Taysom Hill on the ground starting from the Panthers' 38-yard-line. The 6-play, 23-yard drive would stall out, but Brett Maher booted through another field goal, this time from 33 yards to make it 12-10 Saints with 2:07 left in the quarter.

The Panthers offense went to work, finally being able to put together some positive plays to close out the quarter. Their 10-play, 46-yard drive had them on the move and threatening, but the Saints defense came up big with some stops to force a 47-yard field goal. Marshon Lattimore had a big open field tackle on Robby Anderson on the 3rd-and-11 play before. The Lirim Hajrullahu attempt was wide right, and it stayed 12-10 with 12:04 to play.

New Orleans finally got some success on the ground, and it came via Alvin Kamara. He had a big 30-yard run, followed up by a Hill keeper for 9. The 7-play, 63-yard drive finally ended in a touchdown, as Hill hit Kamara in stride from the Panthers' 12-yard-line. The extra point hit the uprights, and it was 18-10 Saints with 7:49 left in the game.

With the crowd locked in, the Saints defense turned things up a notch on the ensuing Panthers possession. Jeff Heath, in relief for P.J. Williams, ended up getting the first sack of his career after two other Saints defenders missed him. On 3rd-and-11, Cam Jordan and Kwon Alexander combined for a sack on Darnold to force a Panthers punt. New Orleans got the ball back with 6:23 to play, but ended up running a three-and-out after going backwards on their first two plays.

The Panthers took over with 4:06 to play, and did enough to get some first downs on the drive, but the clock was not on their side. They went into the two-minute warning with all of their timeouts. C.J. Gardner-Johnson had a big 9-yard sack on Darnold with 1:09 left to play. The Panthers got a first down via a penalty on Paulson Adebo to get a fresh set of downs. Cam Jordan got another sack on Darnold the play after, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson sealed things with a pick on the next one to end things.

This sets up a regular season finale in Atlanta against the Falcons in Week 18, as the Saints will get a playoff clinching scenario on their hands. It's crazy to think this after a wild ride, but here we are.

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John Hendrix
JOHN HENDRIX

I officially started covering the New Orleans Saints & other NFL topics in 2011. My work has been featured on various outlets over the years. I worked closely with Skyhorse Publishing in Fall 2018 to update the book, Tales From the New Orleans Saints Sidelines, which filled in all Saints material from the 2013-2017 seasons. Prior to joining Saints News Network, I served as the Managing Editor of SB Nation's Canal Street Chronicles for 3.5 years, and before that with FanSided's Who Dat Dish as the Managing Editor for several years. I have also had experiences of being a freelance Saints reporter for The Sun Herald in Biloxi, MS and a contributing writer for WDSU, a local NBC TV station in New Orleans. I have appeared on a vast amount of TV and Radio shows, both nationally and locally. For tips, comments, or suggestions, please contact me at johnhendrix@saintsnews.net

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