The Carolina Panthers showed a lot of fight playing at New Orleans Sunday, but a big sack cost them any chance to pull off an upset.
New Orleans won 27-24 after a great defensive play from Marcus Davenport with 2:53 to play.
The Panthers had a third-and-11 at the Saints’ 39. Davenport sacked Teddy Bridgewater for an 8-yard loss and Joey Slye’s 65-yard field goal was right on line, but only went about 641/2 yards.
The miss allowed New Orleans (4-2) to get possession and the Saints ran out the clock.
Carolina lost its second straight and fell to 3-4 heading into a nationally televised game Thursday with the Falcons.
▪ New Orleans QB Drew Brees completed 29-of-36 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a 1-yard score. Alvin Kamara ran 14 times for 83 yards and caught eight passes for 65 yards.
▪ Panthers QB Teddy Bridgewater played well facing his old team. Bridgewater completed 23-of-28 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns. Carolina’s running game, however, was anemic. The Panthers ran for 37 yards.
Huge New Orleans sack forces long FG miss
Marcus Davenport made perhaps the biggest play of the game, sacking Teddy Bridgewater on third and 11 from the Saints’ 39 with 2:53 to play.
Davenport ran a stunt, starting from the right side of the defensive line. He retreated a little and rushed up the middle. Panthers running back Mike Davis, 5-9 and 220 pounds, tried to block Davenport, who is 6-6, 265. Davenport ran through the attempt and tackled Bridgewater.
The Panthers had converted 6-of-8 third down attempts to start the game, but this failure left the Panthers with a fourth and long at its 47. Next Joey Slye -- who was hitting from 60 yards in pregame -- narrowly missed a 65-yard field goal. The attempt was right down the middle but was about one yard short.
Wil Lutz FG: Saints 27, Panthers 24
Wil Lutz made his second field goal, with 7:55 to play, to give the Saints a 3-point lead. New Orleans came into the game converting 48.5 percent of its third down attempts. That ranked fourth in the league.
Sunday, the Saints converted 11 of their first 12 third down attempts before the Panthers got them stopped for the second time, forcing the kick.
▪ On the third down play, Saints receiver Marquez Callaway appeared to injure his ankle and hobbled off the field.
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Curtis Samuel (10) scores a touchdown against the New Orleans defense in fourth quarter at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday, October 25, 2020, in New Orleans. Matthew Hinton
Curtis Samuel TD: Panthers 24, Saints 24
The Panthers scored on a 5-yard Curtis Samuel TD over the left side of the Panthers line. With eight seconds left in the third quarter, Carolina had tied the game.
The Panthers fought back from 11 points down to take a lead in the first half, and fought back to tie the game after they lost it.
New Orleans Saints kicker Wil Lutz (3) kicks a field goal against the Carolina Panthers in third quarter at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday, October 25, 2020, in New Orleans. Matthew Hinton
Wil Lutz FG: Saints 24, Panthers 17
The Saints extended their lead to seven with 4:24 left in the third quarter after a long drive stalled. Wil Lutz made a 43-yard field goal. An offensive pass interference penalty on Tre’Quan Smith prevented a Saints’ touchdown pass from Drew Brees to Marquez Callaway.
On the drive, New Orleans converted a third and 14 to get to the Panthers 49. Panthers defensive back Troy Pride missed a 1-on-1 tackle on Alvin Kamara that would’ve given Carolina points.
Russell Okung leaves with injury
Panthers left tackle Russell Okung left the game with about 12 minutes to go in the third quarter. Okung has a calf injury as is doubtful to return.
What the Panthers must do in the second half
The Panthers trail the Saints 21-17 at the half. Both offenses have had success, but the defense? That’s another story.
Panthers defensive end Brian Burns did strip sack Saints quarterback Drew Brees deep in Panthers territory.
Defensive end Marquis Haynes recovered it at the Panthers 35 and the Panthers scored a touchdown before the half to take a brief lead.
But the Saints answered with a drive of their own.
The game is far from over, and the Panthers need to correct a few things in the second half.
Here are two things the Panthers must do to win:
1. Stop the run
This isn’t anything new for the Panthers. Stopping the run has been an issue for the Panthers all season. But the Saints are having too much success.
The Saints have often fooled the Panthers’ defensive linemen and linebackers on misdirection plays, which have led to huge holes.
Saints running backs Latavius Murray and Alvin Kamara have combined for 98 yards rushing in the first half. Both have gains of 25 yards or more.
2: Pressure Drew Brees
With the exception of the strip sack — and that wasn’t the fault of Brees — Brees is picking apart the Panthers’ zone defense. He had only four incompletions in the first half. One incompletion was a spike to stop the clock.
Brees completed 18 of 22 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns.
Brees gets the ball out quickly, but the Panthers must get more pressure on Brees. The one time they did, it ended in a sack-fumble.
Deonte Harris TD: Saints 21, Panthers 17
Down by three points, Drew Brees drove the Saints down the field in 95 seconds. He finished the drive by throwing a 4-yard scoring pass to Deonte Harris. There were two seconds left in the first half after the touchdown.
Carolina Panthers wide receiver D.J. Moore (12) scores a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints late in second quarter at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday, October 25, 2020, in New Orleans. Matthew Hinton
DJ Moore TD: Panthers 17, Saints 14
After a big Brian Burns strip sack, the Panthers drove 65 yards to take the lead, scoring on a short toss in the backfield from Teddy Bridgewater to DJ Moore. Moore ran left to right in the Panthers backfield go to the sidelines, where kept going, breaking through some arm tackles, for a 7-yard TD. Moore’s second touchdown of the game gave the Panthers the lead with 97 seconds left in the first half.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) is sacked by Carolina Panthers defensive end Brian Burns (53) in the second quarter at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday, October 25, 2020, in New Orleans. Matthew Hinton
Brian Burns’ big sack
After a 74-scoring pass, the Panthers had a chance to get off the field early in New Orleans’ next drive. But defensive back Donte Jackson was called for a hold far away from a third down play that was stopped.
The Saints kept their drive going and had second and 10 at the Panthers 25 with 7:07 left in the second quarter. On the next play, Drew Brees went back to pass but Panthers linebacker Brian Burns flew past Saints tackle James Hurt, sacked Brees and forced a fumble. It was Brees’ first fumble in more than a year. Carolina defensive lineman Marquis Haynes recovered at the Panthers 35.
Teddy Bridgewater hit DJ Moore on a 74-yard touchdown after the Saints took a big lead. Saints safety Marcus Williams misread the play and moved towards the line of scrimmage while Moore ran past him. It was an easy pitch-and-catch that got the Panthers back into the game early in the second quarter.
Teddy isn't giving up against his former team just yet, finds DJ Moore for a 74-yard score.pic.twitter.com/yADxsIvaur
Drew Brees completed his first nine passes of the game, most against a zone defense. The Panthers forced his first incompletion, from the Carolina 16, by sending some pressure. But Brees kept firing away into the Carolina zone, completing his next pass to the Carolina 6.
After running plays from Latavius Murray and Alvin Kamara, Brees got a 1-yard score, leaping up over the left side of his offense line and extending the ball across the goal line early in the second quarter.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) is sacked by Carolina Panthers defensive end Brian Burns (53) in the second quarter at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday, October 25, 2020, in New Orleans. Matthew Hinton
Joey Slye FG: Saints 7, Panthers 3
The Panthers moved the ball after the Saints’ score, but QB Teddy Bridgewater was tripped up on a third down scramble where it looked he might get the first down. Instead Joey Slye’s 43-yard field goal brought the Panthers within four points with 1:54 left in the first quarter.
Curtis Samuel had a huge catch on third down during the drive. It was the 12th time he’s been targeted on third down this season and the 12th time he’s made the catch. Samuel’s catch gave the Panthers a first down at the New Orleans 29.
Jared Cook TD: Saints 7, Panthers 0
Drew Brees threw a four-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jared Cook on the Saints first drive that used up more than half of the first quarter. The Saints drove 14 plays for 75 yards and scored with 6:34 left in opening period.
Matt Rhule was known for wearing a smock when he coached at Baylor. For the first time as an NFL coach, Rhule has broken out the smock — this time in Carolina Panther blue.
Panthers-Saints inactive list is out
Carolina’s offense got good news Sunday when wide receiver Curtis Samuel was made active for the game in New Orleans. He had been dealing with a knee injury and missed last week’s game against the Bears.
The Saints are without star wide receiver Michael Thomas.
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Alaina covers the Carolina Panthers for The Charlotte Observer. Before coming to Charlotte, she worked at The Dallas Morning News and The NFL Today on CBS.Support my work with a digital subscription
Jonathan M. Alexander is a native of Charlotte. He began covering the Carolina Panthers for the Observer in July 2020 after working at the N&O for seven years, where he covered a variety of beats, including UNC basketball and football, Duke basketball, recruiting, K-12 schools, public safety and town government.Support my work with a digital subscription
