Panthers Fall Short in New Orleans, Drop Sixth Straight
Possessions were at a premium early on with each team having just one full possession in the first quarter of play. Panthers QB Sam Darnold got out to a hot start going 5/5 with a couple of big completions to Ameer Abdullah (17 yards) and Ian Thomas (21 yards). The drive stalled out inside the red zone, so the Panthers settled for a 32-yard field goal from Lirim Hajrullahu.
Taysom Hill dumped off a pass to the dangerous Alvin Kamara out of the backfield that popped for a gain of 29. Frankie Luvu recorded a tackle for loss, an incompletion, and a screen shut down by Kenny Robinson forced the Saints to field goal of their own. Brett Maher sailed one through the uprights from 41 to knot the game up at three.
Chuba Hubbard owned the next drive for the Panthers going for 32 yards on three carries including a 21-yard rush up the sideline and in for the score. Two plays before the touchdown, Hubbard hauled in a 17-yard pass to move the ball to the 26. The 10-play, 81-yard drive ate up nearly six minutes of game clock.
Carolina escaped disaster on their next series as tight end Ian Thomas whiffed on the safety blitz from P.J. Williams who had a direct shot to Darnold's blindside, causing the ball to pop loose. New Orleans recovered, but once again had to settle for three from Maher.
At the two-minute warning, Lachlan Edwards hit a bomb of a punt that went for 62 yards, pinning the Saints inside their own 10. On 3rd & 11 from the three, the Panthers brought the house attempting to rush Hill into a bad throw. Instead, he delivered a rope to Marquez Callaway along the sideline to get the ball out to the 31. Hill hit on his next three passes and set up Maher for a 41-yard field goal, which brought us to a halftime score of 10-9 in favor of Carolina.
The Saints dominated field position for much of the third quarter and it led to them snatching their first lead of the game. Carolina went three and out and thanks to some shoddy offensive line play, Jeff Nixon called plays conservatively playing in the shadows of their own end zone. New Orleans started with the ball at the Carolina 38, but couldn't take full advantage of the short field. Maher made his fourth field goal of the day, pushing the Saints ahead 12-10 late in the third quarter.
Sam Darnold bounced back and led the Panthers down the field with a couple of big throws to DJ Moore (20 yards) and Terrace Marshall Jr. that moved the chains on 3rd down. Carolina had an opportunity to take the lead back, but Hajrullahu pushed his 47-yard field goal attempt wide right.
Alvin Kamara got the ball rolling on the ensuing drive with a 30-yard gut punch up the middle. He put the exclamation mark on the series, catching a 12-yard pass on a wheel route from Hill. Maher missed the extra point which gave the Panthers some life, keeping it a one-score game, 18-10, with a little under eight minutes to go.
Carolina had two more cracks at it, but failed to tie the game back up. Darnold was intercepted by C.J. Gardner-Johnson at the 46 with under one minute left, sealing the win for New Orleans.
The Panthers will conclude the 2021-22 season next Sunday as they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road.
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