By Joe Person, Larry Holder and Amos Morale III
The Carolina Panthers handed the New Orleans Saints their seventh straight loss with a 23-22 win Sunday at Bank of America Stadium. The win for the Panthers broke their five-game losing streak.
In the process of picking up their second win of the year, the Panthers (2-7) likely turned up the heat on Saints (2-7) coach Dennis Allen’s seat.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young led what proved to be a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter. The 2023 No. 1 pick threw for 171 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Tailback Chuba Hubbard rushed for two TDs, including the game winner with 2:18 remaining in the fourth quarter.
It wasn’t for a lack of output from the Saints’ Alvin Kamara, though, as he piled up 215 yards of total offense in the losing effort.
Young making a case
Young took the Panthers 64 yards in five plays for the first game-winning touchdown drive of his career. Last year’s No. 1 pick had a couple of really nice plays on the game-winning drive, both involving rookies. He hit first-round pick Xavier Legette for a 26-yard gain over the middle to convert a third-and-10, then lofted a ball to tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders on the next play to draw a 22-yard pass interference penalty on Demario Davis.
Hubbard took it from there with a 16-yard touchdown run. A costly delay of game penalty — the Panthers’ third in the past two games — backed them up five yards on the two-point conversion, which failed when Young was sacked. That left Carolina up 23-22 with 2:18 left, and put the game in the hands of the defense. Young presumably did enough to earn another start next week in Munich against the New York Giants. — Joe Person, Panthers beat writer
Carolina’s defense comes up clutch
The Panthers’ defense had bent a lot of the afternoon, but for the most part didn’t break. And Ejiro Evero’s group came up big on the Saints’ final series. On second-and-10, Charles Harris and Jadeveon Clowney combined for the Panthers’ first sack of the game in dropping Derek Carr for a 6-yard loss. A completion to Kamara left the Saints with a fourth-and-4. Carr looked deep down the left sideline for Cedrick Wilson, but cornerback Mike Jackson broke it up to seal it. With the victory, the Panthers matched last year’s win total and will carry some positive vibes across the Atlantic for next week’s game in Germany. — Person
This is a fireable loss for Allen
I’m not sure how many people were taking the Saints seriously these days given they had lost their last six games in a row. But at least the Saints were facing a hapless Panthers squad with Carr returning to the lineup. Surely the Saints would end the losing streak Sunday, right? Nope!
This is rock bottom for the Saints.
New Orleans is now riding a seven-game losing streak and I’m not sure how anyone in the locker room will take Allen seriously with eight games remaining in the 2024 season.
They let a fourth-quarter lead slip away. There were too many moments of ineptitude surrounding time management in both halves by the offense. Chris Olave took another cringing hit and left with another concussion (thankfully he’s healthy enough to fly home with the team).
This whole situation is fireable for Allen right this second. Are the Saints willing to put themselves through this cloud hanging over the franchise for another couple of months? — Larry Holder, NFL senior writer
We just lost to the panthers… I love y’all New Orleans truly had higher expectations and the best of hopes for us, y’all deserve it.
— Cam Jordan (@camjordan94) November 3, 2024
Required reading
- NFL Week 9, trade deadline live updates: Latest news, rumors, grades and coverage maps
- NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Bills up, Cowboys down, plus Something Scary for every team
- ‘We’re getting coached by legends’: 3 former Panthers get after it … in middle school
- Panthers knew what they were getting in Diontae Johnson, who was true to form
(Photo: Matt Kelley / Getty Images)
