Cat Scratch Reader
The Panthers played a decent game on both sides of the ball and got to kneel out the clock for a win.
Bryce Young led the Panthers on a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter and got to take his first game winning kneel as the Carolina Panthers defeated the New Orleans Saints, 23-22.
The Saints leaned on Alvin Kamara to start, and the Panthers absolutely could not tackle him. For some reason the Saints went to the air once they got to the red zone, which the Panthers stopped and forced a field goal. The Panthers had a couple of nice plays to Xavier Legette to start their own drive, but it stalled out at midfield with a trademark swing pass to Miles Sanders that loses five yards.
Each team’s second drive was basically the as the first.
The Panthers defense forced a three and out, and a bad Saints punt set them up on the Saints 40. The offense actually took advantage. Bryce Young made a couple nice throws, and a bubble screen to Jalen Coker set the Panthers up inside the five. Two plays later, young found Xavier Legette on a slant for a touchdown just like in the Broncos game.
The Saints responded with their own touchdown drive. They went to the Taysom Hill offense in the red zone, and he powered in for a touchdown.
The Panthers worked out to midfield. A quick out to Xavier Legette was blown up and got the receiver hurt. The Panthers elected to punt on 4th and short near midfield for the second time, and Johnny Hekker pinned them inside the 10.
The Saints hit another bad punt after a three and out that used almost no clock, which along with a Saints personal foul set the Panthers up inside the 40. They didn’t move the ball at all and settled for a 48 yard field goal.
The Panthers got the ball to start the second half. Young found Ja’Tavion Sanders on a check down, and the rookie tight end hurdled a defender and took off down the sideline for the Panthers biggest play of the year. Young found David Moore for what should have been a deep touchdown, but the ball was dropped. Young found Sanders again with a dart to keep the drive alive. The quarterback set the Panthers up inside the five with a big scramble where he juked a defender. Chuba Hubbard punched in two plays later. It was by far Young’s best drive of the season.
The Saints drudged their way up the field and picked up a couple of fourth downs on the way. The defense held up after the Saints got into field goal range, and the kick brought the Saints within one.
The ensuing Panthers drive featured three screen passes that gained a total of -3 yards. The third quarter ended with the Saints driving after Carr miraculously escaped a third down...
