Sweet Victory: Kyle Allen, Panthers defeat Saints in season finale

It was a great win for the Panthers Sunday.

The Carolina Panthers entered Sunday’s Week 17 season finale trying to end things on a high note. After what has been a difficult stretch for them over the second half of the season, a win against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday would at least give them something to build off heading into the off-season. They did just that, beating the New Orleans Saints by a 33-14 score.

The Panthers got the scoring started early. In the first quarter, quarterback Kyle Allen ran the ball from a yard out for a score, giving the Panthers a 7-0 advantage following a Chandler Catanzaro extra point. That concluded an 11-play, 75-yard drive that took a little under five minutes. They would score again before the conclusion of the quarter. At the 2:07 mark, Cameron Artis-Payne scampered 15 yards into the end zone to put the Panthers up by a 13-0 margin. Cantanzaro would miss the extra point. By scoring another touchdown, the Panthers ended a nine-play, 89-yard drive.

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Rookie tight end Ian Thomas has had an impressive couple weeks, and he continued that on Sunday. He would open up the scoring for the Panthers in the second quarter, catching a pass from yards out for the touchdown. That put the Panthers up 20-0 and things were looking good. Right as time expired in the second quarter Chandler Catanzaro it a 22-yard field goal to put the Panthers up 23-0 at halftime.

The third quarter was a relatively quiet one after an explosive the first two quarters. The only score of the game was a memorable one as Allen launched a 53-yard pass to Curtis Samuel at the 3:46 mark in the third quarter to make it a 30-0 ballgame. That would be all she wrote in the scoring department until the fourth frame when the Saints began to make some noise of their own. New Orleans would score 1st in the fourth quarter as Tre’Quan Smith caught a nine-yard pass from the arm of Teddy Bridgewater to make it a 30-7 game following a kick from Will Lutz. Despite the score, the Panthers still held a comfortable lead.

Besides a Catanzaro 51-yard field goal, nothing eventful happened for the Panthers in the scoring department in the fourth quarter. The one notable event was Kyle Allen was knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury. Old friend Garrett Gilbert came in to replace Allen. He would play decently, going two-of-three on the day, throwing for 40 yards and taking care of the football well. The final score of the game would go to the Saints. Taysom Hill would score via a nine yard run at the 3:47 mark in the fourth quarter. That made the game 33-14 following an extra point, but it was not enough to prevent the Panthers from victory. Carolina and in the season on a high note.

Prior to his injury Kyle Allen had a great game, going 16-of-27 and throwing for 228 yards to go along with two touchdowns. Cameron Artis-Payne would be the leading rusher in this one carrying the ball 16 times for 56 yards and a touchdown. On the receiving end of things DJ Moore had a great end to the season. He caught four passes for 81 yards, averaging 20.3 yards per catch. Curtis Samuel should also be commended for his efforts. He caught two passes for 72 yards and a touchdown including the 53-yard pass that was his longest of the afternoon.

Now, we enter the off-season. This is perhaps the longest period of the entire year. The Panthers certainly have a lot to work on. There were a lot of good things, and there were a lot of things that need to be fixed. It will be interesting to see how this off-season plays out.

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