The Carolina Panthers had a chance to take a stranglehold on the NFC South, but they could not get anything going against the New Orleans Saints.
First Quarter
The Saints took a conservative approach to their first drive and went nowhere with it. The Panthers largely did the same but to more success. Jalen Coker made a terrific toe tap catch on a back shoulder to bring the Panthers to the doorstep of the red zone. A few plays later, Rico Dowdle jump cut through the line and powered just to the goal line to put
the Panthers up 7-0.
The Saints moved the ball a little bit on their next drive and were going to attempt a 4th and 4 just across midfield, but they were backed up by a false start. They punted. The Panthers got a first down off a nifty submarine pass from Bryce Young, but the drive went nowhere because of a personal foul by Ikem Ekwonu. The quarter ended with the Panthers set to punt.
Second Quarter
The punt landed in the coffin corner and backed the Saints up inside the five. The drive yo-yoed up the field with penalties by both teams. It took forever, but the Saints eventually scored on a Devin Neal run. They were helped by a couple of highlights catches by Devaughn Vele and Juwan Johnson.
The Panthers worked the ball across midfield, where they set themselves up with a 4th and 2. As was the case against the Rams, the Panthers went to the air. Young found Tetairoa McMillan who had found a void in the zone. He scampered to the 21 yard line. A couple plays later, Young tried to find McMillan on a post route, but the ball was just a bit behind him and was deflected away. Carolina settled for a Ryan Fitzgerald field goal that squeezed just inside the upright.
Third Quarter
The Panthers got the ball to start the second half. They got a big play on a ball Young chucked up to a wide open Xavier Legette. They got another first down pickup when Chuba Hubbard bobbed and weaved through the defense on a screen pass. They were backed up by a hold on Taylor Morton, but it ultimately didn’t matter. Young threw a rainbow that Jalen Coker was able to run underneath to put the Panthers up 17-7.
The Saints matriculated up the field in large part thanks to a handful of Panthers penalties, many of which were rather dubious in nature, including a pass interference on Jaycee Horn in which Tyler Shough threw the ball about 25 yards away from the intended receiver. The drive finally ended with back to back sacks that forced a Saints field goal.
It looked like the ensuing drive was going to start in Saints territory, but Trevor Etienne’s return was called back for an illegal formation. The third quarter ended with the Panthers facing a third and medium.
Fourth Quarter
The Panthers picked up all but one yard on a quick pass to Jimmy Horn Jr. They got the first with a Dowdle run. On the next third down, they got a free play with a Chase Young offsides, but Young scrambled away for a first down anyway. The Panthers were forced to go for a 4th and inches after Young was tackled just short the first down, but a dive to Hubbard was bottled up.
The Saints moved up the field with the help of some more penalties. The defense finally went enough plays without a a penalty to force a field goal attempt, but Chau Smith-Wade jumped offsides on the attempt. Saints coach Kellen Moore elected to take the points off the board to go for it on 4th and 1. They tried to pass, but Shough tried to scramble, and chaos ensued. He went down before the first down marker and also lost the ball. He was ruled down by contact short of the first down, and the ball went back to Carolina. They didn’t do anything with it though and quickly punted it back to New Orleans with just under five minutes to play.
The Saints flew up the field with several pass plays, including to Chris Olave who had been quiet all game. The fourth target to Olave resulted in a game tying touchdown when he burnt Horn on an in breaking route.
After a couple incompletions, Young scrambled up the middle for a first down run on 3rd and 10 as the clock wound down to the two minute warning. On the next play, he was sacked for a nine yard loss as he stood statuesque deep in the pocket. After a short completion, Young tried to scramble again but was tripped up after a short gain.
The Saints were called for a penalty on the punt, which backed them up. Audric Estime picked up a big gain on a screen pass then another small chunk on a check down. The Saints ended up running a quarterback draw that caught the defense off guard. Lathan Ransom torpedoed into Shough to add 15 yards to the play and make for a very easy game winning kick from Charlie Smyth.
Overview
The Panthers continue to be remarkably consistent with their inconsistency. This week, a group that had been pretty disciplined all season when it comes to penalties gave the Saints six first downs on penalties alone.
The defense wasn’t able to disrupt Tyler Shough and the Saints offense, especially when they started airing it out late in the game. The need for a better pass rush gets more and more apparent every week.
On offense, outside of a couple of throws, Bryce played like the bad version of himself. I don’t know if he threw a single ball at the top of his drop and instead bailed out of the back of the pocket and rushed towards the sideline on almost every drop back. Neither running back could get going, and that combination made for an offense that struggled to move the ball.
The Panthers are the Panthers. Who knows what we’ll get next week. They’ll face another team that’s coming off a bad loss with the division almost on the line. The Buccaneers will visit the Charlotte next Sunday.
