In quarterback Derek Carr’s return from injury, the New Orleans Saints continued to spiral as the team fell to the Carolina Panthers 23-22 on the road.
The loss for New Orleans (2-7) made for the seventh game in a row Dennis Allen’s squad has found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard while the win for Carolina (2-7) snapped a five-game losing skid.
Even though the Saints’ defense held the Panthers to only 246 yards of offense, penalties put New Orleans behind the eight ball. If there was one bright spot, it was running back Alvin Kamara who compiled 215 total yards.
Scoring summary
Minus a few mishaps in the red zone, New Orleans owned the first quarter but allowed the Panthers to claw their way within three points before halftime.
Saints kicker Blake Grupe knocked through two short field goals (29, 33 yards) in the opening quarter of play. In the second quarter, Carolina quarterback Bryce Young found Xavier Legette from three yards out to take a 7-6 lead. New Orleans then scored its first touchdown of the day on a seven-yard Taysom Hill run before Carolina closed out the first half with a 48-yard field goal by Eddy Pineiro.
Coming out of the locker room, the third quarter belonged to the Panthers, who scored on a one-yard leap by running back Chuba Hubbard on the opening possession. This gave Carolina a 17-13 lead that Grupe would make 17-16 with a 51-yard field goal toward the end of the third quarter.
As the final period of play began, New Orleans drove down the field as Carr found tight end Foster Moreau on an 11-yard touchdown pass to retake the lead. A failed two-point conversion would come back to haunt the Saints as Hubbard scored a go-ahead touchdown just before the two-minute warning. While the Panthers could not convert on a two-point try of their own, the defense held strong and sealed the 23-22 win.
Injury report
New Orleans wide receiver Chris Olave sustained a concussion in the first quarter when trying to catch a ball down the middle of the field. The Saints have since confirmed that Olave can use all his extremities and is recovering. Center Lucas Patrick left the game in the second quarter with a reported calf injury.
What the coach said
With the Saints’ streak now the longest the organization has seen since 1999, head coach Dennis Allen acknowledged that his job is in question. Allen, who replaced Sean Payton in 2022, has an overall record of 18-25 since taking the role in New Orleans.
“When you’re not winning, it’s hard to say. I’m going to keep coming in every day and fight my ass off,” Allen said when asked about his future. “We have good leadership in the room. We have to do a better job of playing and coaching. We’ll evaluate where we are, and we’ll make some changes based on where we are.”
Going into the game, one of the Saints’ two wins on the season came against Carolina in week one. When asked about the loss, Allen stated: “There are some good things we did well, including running the ball. Hindsight is 20-20, but it was hard with how hard these guys played. Losing Chris (Olave) early in the game was hard on us, but we had our opportunities and didn’t take advantage.”
Numbers never lie
As Allen pointed out, Sunday’s loss burned a little more for the Saints as they lead in almost every statistical category. New Orleans outgained Carolina in total offense (427-246), first downs (25-15), time of possession (34:19-25:41), and forced turnovers (1-0).
The one number that proved most important, in which the Panthers won, was red zone conversions. While New Orleans only converted two of four opportunities inside the 25-yard line, Carolina was a perfect three for three.
Carr struggled in his return after missing the last three games with an oblique injury, finishing 18 of 31 passing for 236 yards with one touchdown pass. Carolina’s Bryce Young completed 16 of 26 passes with a touchdown and an interception in one of his best outings of the season.
Next up
The Saints return home for three consecutive games at Caesar’s Superdome with a bye week sprinkled in. Next Sunday, they will face the Atlanta Falcons with kickoff set for noon CT. New Orleans looks to avenge its week four 26-24 loss to Atlanta.
