An embarrassingly incompetent offensive performance doomed the Carolina Panthers in a loss to the New Orleans Saints.
First Quarter
The Panthers got the ball first and moved the ball down the field pretty easily, especially
through the air. It looked like the drive was going to short circuit in Saints territory when Bryce Young inexplicably threw the ball into triple coverage in the middle of the field. He was bailed out by a roughing penalty since he got slapped in the head. A couple plays later, Rico Dowdle punched in the first points of the game.
The defense nearly forced a three and out with back to back sacks, but Tyler Shough was able to escape and find a wide open Juwan Johnson deep down the left side. The tight end rumbled into Panthers territory. As has been the case most of the season, the defense tightened up more as the Saints got closer to the end zone. Facing 1st and Goal from the two, the defense stuffed two runs then forced a throwaway on third down to force a field goal.
The ensuing drive stalled out around midfield and ended in a punt. Sam Martin’s punt landed at the six and bounced almost straight sideways until it rolled out of bounds at the two. The Saints ended up punting it right back, and the Panthers took over right where their previous drive ended.
Second Quarter
The Panthers had to punt the ball right back. The Saints picked up a 4th and short with a fullback tight end to Taylor Hill. On the next play, Tyler Shough took a deep shot to Cheis Olave, who appeared to get away with a push off as he broke free and reeled in the deep strike.
The teams traded punts. The second of those Panthers punts, Sam Martin continued the player of the game performance he was working on with a huge punt to flip the field. The Saints worked across midfield but eventually they had to punt it back to the Panthers as the half wound down.
Third Quarter
The Saints started the second half with the ball but didn’t do much with it. They punted from just shy of midfield. Bryce Young led a methodical drive back into Saints territory with a couple short completions to Jalen Coker and one big play to Tetairoa McMillan. He couldn’t connect with Xavier Legette on a deep third down pass, so Dave Canales sent out the field goal unit. Ryan Fitzgerald’s kick was swatted at the line. However, fortunately for the Panthers, the ball technically traveled past the line of scrimmage after the block and was touched by a Saint. That made it a live ball recoverable by both teams. The Panthers jumped it on and retained possession.
They capitalized on their good fortune by fumbling an exchange between Young and Jimmy Horn Jr. That loose ball was recovered by the Saints.
Fourth Quarter
The fourth quarter started with the Saints driving into Panthers territory after picking up a short fourth down. They found themselves in a similar situation a few plays later and elected to air it out. Nic Scourton was able to turn the corner and drag down Shough for the sack and turnover on downs.
The Panthers offense again threw away the opportunity , this time literally. Young threw a wildly off target ball to an open McMillan and it was easily undercut for an interception.
The Saints scored what felt like the dagger touchdown when Jaycee Horn fell in coverage which left Juwan Johnson all by himself again, this time for a touchdown.
The offense benefited from their best source of yardage when Young was roughed for the second time, this time on a failed third down conversion. That extended the drive long enough for the Panthers to face a 4th and 4. Young completed the dump off to Hubbard for a solid three yards.
The Saints ground down the Panthers and the clock with the Taysom Hill show. They picked up enough first downs to run the clock already out.
Overview
An absolutely brutal game to kill any optimism the Panthers had been built during the winning streak. Young was badly outplayed by Tyler Shough and the offensive line got no push in either phase. The defense couldn’t generate any pass rush nor could they seal off the Saints rushing attack. That said, the defense played well enough to be competitive outside of the two falls by Horn. The offense was a disaster, and that is unacceptable against a team as bad as the Saints.
Now that the vibes have been killed, the Panthers enter a tough stretch of the schedule to close the season. That starts in Atlanta next weekend.
