New Orleans Saints edge Carolina Panthers 16-14
The Carolina Panthers have had a rough start to the 2010 regular season and moved to 0-4 after Sunday’s 16-14 loss to the New Orleans Saints. The Panthers have been bad on offence this season and head
coach John Fox is on the hot seat.
The Saints came out strong on their opening series and drove the length of the field to put themselves in scoring position early on, which led many to believe that this would be a blowout. But the Panthers
defence held the Saints out of the end zone after Lance fumbled the ball on the Panthers’ one-yard line which was recovered by the linebacker James Anderson for a touch back.
After a horrendous start to the game—which saw the Panthers’ offence burn two timeouts on the opening series, they punted the ball right back to New Orleans.
Moore did redeem himself as he scored on a four-yard touchdown pass from Brees for the first points of the game. Panthers rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen, who made his second NFL start, responded with
a 55-yard scoring strike to running-back Jonathan Stewart to tie the game at 7-7 in the second quarter.
The touchdown was set up by Clausen’s ability to step up in the pocket and locate a wide open Stewart, thanks to a busted coverage in the Saints secondary. The Panthers other running-back DeAngelo Williams'
also contributed to the scoring with a 39-yard TD run which gave Carolina a 14-10 lead in the third quarter.
The Saints took back the lead after 46-year-old place kicker John Carney sent two field goals through the uprights which ultimately put the game away.
Clausen, who completed 11-of-20 passes for 146 yards, was under duress for the majority of the game, but had a chance to get his first NFL win. Trailing late in the game, Clausen tried to connect with
receiver Dwyane Jarrett, but a key play by defensive-back Jabari Greer batted the ball down, and allowed the Saints to escape with a win and improve their record to 3-1.
As much as this loss may hurt right now, Fox should be excited, as there were positives that came from this game. Something clicked for the Panthers’ defence and they did not allow one of the NFL’s most
potent offences to pile on the points, which gave their team a chance to pull off a major upset.
Saints QB Drew Brees plays well when he is in a rhythm, and
Carolina did a good job disrupting his timing with receivers and preventing Brees from getting comfortable in the pocket. The defensive line did a good job getting in pressure on Bress and swatting down balls at the line of scrimmage.
The Saints were trying to bounce back form last week’s overtime loss to the Atlanta Falcons and did not play their best football. Brees, who was 33 of 48 for 275 yards passing and one touchdown, didn’t
have an answer for why his team isn’t lighting up the score board as seen in previous years. However, he did jokingly add that it appears that his team is “going to save all the scoring and everything else until the end of the season.”
Brees added: “We haven't scored like we're used to scoring and yet we're 3-1 and a field goal away from being 4-0,” making it sound like he isn't too worried about the lack of offensive fireworks just
yet.
Tags: