If Steve Wilks has coached his last game for the Panthers, he can walk away knowing his players haven’t finished him. Eddy Pineiro kicked a 42-yard field goal as time expired and Carolina closed out the season with an opportunistic 10-7 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. “The guys showed up today,” said Wilks, who went 6-6 as interim coach after Matt Rhule’s shooting. “We’ve dealt with so much adversity throughout the year and for these guys to turn the wagons around again and find a way to come together and win football is extremely impressive.” advantage, they outgained Carolina 304 yards to 203, but the game remained close until the end due to New Orleans’ inability to score on four possessions inside the Panthers’ 40-yard line. Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan said after New Orleans saw its three-game winning streak snapped. “Not finishing the way we wanted to is going to be annoying for a while. The Saints (7-10) were in position to win when safety Daniel Sorensen intercepted Sam Darnold near midfield and returned it to the Carolina 35 with 1:36 left. go. But New Orleans couldn’t move the ball on three plays, and Wil Lutz missed a 55-yard field goal attempt — his second mistake of the game. Darnold moved Carolina (7-10) within field goal range in the final minute with a first down scramble, followed by just his fifth completion of the game — a 21-yarder to former LSU wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. Darnold finished 5 of 15 for 43 yards and was intercepted twice for the win despite having a 2.8 quarterback rating. But the Panthers rushed for 171 yards, led by Chuba Hubbard’s 69 yards on 21 carries. “It wasn’t pretty, but we got it done in the end and that’s what matters,” Darnold said. “I’m really proud of our resilience. Carolina scored its only TD on a Darnold fumble that was recovered in the end zone by Panthers lineman Michael Jordan. New Orleans’ Andy Dalton was 15 of 25 for 171 yards and one touchdown to Chris Olave. Alvin Kamara rushed for 107 yards. The Saints took a 7-0 lead on Olave’s 25-yard TD catch on the game’s opening drive, but New Orleans missed three consecutive scoring chances in the opening half. just the way you want to start,” Dalton said. “We had opportunities at other points in the match and we didn’t take them, we didn’t play when we needed to. … The score should have been completely different.” Lutz missed a 44-yard field goal attempt. Kamara placed fourth and first. And after Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu intercepted Darnold near the goal line, New Orleans turned it around when Olave fumbled inside the Carolina 25-yard line. 60 in the first half, they opened the second half with a 14-play, 82-yard drive to tie the score at 7 on Jordan’s recovery. Under first-year coach Dennis Allen, the Saints finished the season with a 10-loss streak for the first time since 2005 — the year before his predecessor, Sean Payton, was hired. (The Saints had five 7-9 seasons between 2007 and 2016.) “We’ll evaluate everything,” Allen said. “No one decides anything 30 minutes after we left the pitch. SUSPENDED Panthers running back D’Onta Foreman and Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport were ejected in the third quarter for throwing punches after the whistle, moments after Davenport tackled Foreman for no gain. Foreman had 12 carries for 67 yards. Davenport was in three attacks. INJURIES Panthers: Marquis Haynes appeared to injure his ankle in the first half. Left tackle Brady Christensen was wheeled to the locker room in the first half.Saints: Rookie offensive tackle Trevor Penning, making his first career start, limped off with an apparent leg injury with 1:33 left. UP NEXTPanthers: Start offseason with uncertainty over who will coach in 2023 and a decision on whether to stick with Darnold at QB.Saints: Head into Allen’s first full offseason with six offensive and defensive starters, as well as several regulars at all three units, free admission representation. The club’s future at QB is also uncertain.
If Steve Wilks has coached his last game for the Panthers, he can walk away knowing his players haven’t quit on him.
Eddy Pineiro kicked a 42-yard field goal as time expired and Carolina closed out its season with an opportunistic 10-7 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
“The guys showed up today,” said Wilks, who went 6-6 as interim coach after Matt Rhule’s shooting. “We’ve dealt with so much adversity throughout the year and for those guys to circle the wagons again and find a way to come together and win football is extremely impressive.”
The Saints finished with some wide statistical advantages, outgaining Carolina 304 yards to 203, but the game remained close until the end due to New Orleans’ inability to score on four possessions inside the Panthers’ 40-yard line.
“We should have stopped somebody and we didn’t,” Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan said after New Orleans saw its three-game winning streak snapped. “Not finishing the way we wanted to is going to be annoying for a while.
The Saints (7-10) were in position to win when safety Daniel Sorensen intercepted Sam Darnold near midfield and returned it to the Carolina 35 with 1:36 left. But New Orleans couldn’t move the ball on three plays, and Wil Lutz missed a 55-yard field goal attempt — his second mistake of the game.
Darnold moved Carolina (7-10) into field goal territory in the final minute with a first-down scramble, followed by just his fifth completion of the game — a 21-yarder to former LSU Terrace receiver Marshall Jr.
Darnold finished 5 of 15 for 43 yards and was intercepted twice, winning despite having a 2.8 quarterback rating. But the Panthers rushed for 171 yards, led by Chuba Hubbard’s 69 yards on 21 carries.
“It wasn’t pretty, but we got it done in the end and that’s what matters,” Darnold said. “I’m really proud of our resilience.
Carolina scored its only TD on a Darnold fumble that was recovered in the end zone by Panthers linebacker Michael Jordan.
New Orleans’ Andy Dalton was 15 of 25 for 171 yards and one touchdown to Chris Olave. Alvin Kamara rushed for 107 yards.
The Saints took a 7-0 lead on Olave’s 25-yard TD catch on the opening drive of the game, but New Orleans missed three consecutive scoring chances in the opening half.
“The way we started this game is exactly how you want to start,” Dalton said. “We had opportunities at other points in the match and we didn’t take them, we didn’t play when we needed to. … The score should have looked a lot different.”
Lutz missed a 44-yard field goal. Kamara held on for fourth and first. And after Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu intercepted Darnold near the goal line, New Orleans turned it around when Olave fumbled inside Carolina’s 25-yard line.
The Panthers, who went 234 yards to 60 in the first half, opened the second half with a 14-play, 82-yard drive to tie the score at 7 on a Jordan fumble recovery.
Under first-year coach Dennis Allen, the Saints finished the season with a 10-loss streak for the first time since 2005 — the year before his predecessor, Sean Payton, was hired. (The Saints had five 7-9 seasons between 2007 and 2016.)
“We’ll evaluate everything,” Allen said. “No one decides anything 30 minutes after we left the pitch.
DISMISSED
Panthers running back D’Onta Foreman and Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport were ejected in the third quarter for throwing punches after the whistle, moments after Davenport unsuccessfully tackled Foreman. Foreman had 12 carries for 67 yards. Davenport had three runs scored.
INJURY
Panthers: Marquis Haynes appeared to injure his ankle in the first half. Left tackle Brady Christensen was wheeled to the locker room in the first half.
Saints: Rookie offensive tackle Trevor Penning, making his first career start, limped off with an apparent leg injury with 1:33 left.
NEXT UP
Panthers: Start the offseason with uncertainty over who will be the coach in 2023 and a decision on whether to stick with Darnold at QB.
Saints: Head into Allen’s first full offseason with six offensive and defensive starters as well as several regulars on all three units entering free agency. The club’s future at QB is also uncertain.