Saints marching in: Panthers lose to New Orleans 12-9 in hard-fought battle

This was another frustrating game where the Panthers could just not get it done.

The Carolina Panthers had their chances but they just could not get the job done against the New Orleans Saints on Monday night as they lost by a 12-9 score.

The first quarter started off good for Carolina. At the 4:02 mark of the first quarter, Christian McCaffrey took a nice flea flicker pass and promptly put it in the arms of tight end Chris Manhertz for a 50-yard touchdown that put the Carolina Panthers in business. If there was one good thing about tonight, it was that the Panthers defense played well. That was part of the reason why the New Orleans Saints’ first points of the game would only be a field goal. That would make it a 7-3 game after the first quarter.

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The second quarter continued to be a defensive battle. If there was one thing that the Panthers did well on Monday it was shutting down the primary targets of New Orleans. Michael Thomas was harassed all day by the secondary. He would finish the game with seven catches for 49 yards, which is par for the course for him. Will Lutz scored a field goal from 24 yards out to make it a 7-6 game in favor of the Panthers. That would be the score as the two teams headed into the locker room.

The lack of scoring would continue as it was a theme in the third quarter. Zero points were scored as the defense for both teams made things tough for the quarterbacks. Cam Newton really had a rough day Monday. It definitely seemed as though his shoulder was bothering him. Although his check down throws to McCaffrey were effective, it did not seem as though he could throw the deep ball Monday night. McCaffrey did his best to keep the Panthers in this game. He was a dual-threat running back, finishing the game with 15 carries for 53 yards and eight catches for 67 yards.

Unfortunately for Carolina, the Saints would seal the deal in the fourth quarter. They finally put a good drive together and capped it off with an Alvin Kamara 15-yard run to the end zone. That gave the Saints a 12-7 lead following a failed two point-conversion attempt. Donte Jackson was the reason it failed. He intercepted the pass and took it to the house for two points. It appeared that Carolina would gain some momentum as they now only trailed 12-9.

However, that would not be the case. They had their chances, particularly when New Orleans fumbled the ball on an attempted touchdown out of the back of the end zone, but they just could not capitalize. Although they tried valiantly in the latter part of the quarter to get into the end zone, they just could not do it. The offense appeared to be stagnant and the result would be a 12-9 final in favor of the New Orleans Saints.

Newton would finish the game going 16-of-29, throwing for 145 yards and an interception. He just did not look like himself tonight, as a result of his shoulder.. Aside from McCaffrey, the rest of the Carolina Panthers receivers were relatively quiet, through no fault of their own. If there was one positive, it was the play of Luke Kuechly. He was all over the field making tackles left and right. In particular, a tackle he made on Alvin Kamara in the red zone may have saved a touchdown. He would finish the game with 13 in total.

The next Panthers game will take place against the Falcons at 1:00 PM ET. The game will be broadcast on FOX.

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