If Steve Wilks coached his last game for the Panthers, he can walk away knowing his players haven’t given up on him. Eddy Pineiro hit a 42-yard field goal as time expired and Carolina closed out the season with an opportunistic 10-7 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. “The guys showed up today,” said Wilks, who went 6-6 as interim coach after Matt Rhule was fired. “We’ve dealt with so much adversity throughout the year, and for those guys to get the wheels turning again and find a way to come together and win football is extremely impressive.” The Saints finished with a large stat advantage, outgaining Carolina 304 yards to 203, but the game remained close 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 tough 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 failed to move the ball on three plays and Wil Lutz missed a 55-yard field goal attempt — his second miss of the game. Darnold moved Carolina (7-10) into 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 receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. Darnold finished 5 of 15 for 43 yards and two interceptions, winning despite a 2.8 quarterback rating. But the Panthers rushed for 171 yards, led by Chub 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 just very 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 opening drive of the game, but New Orleans squandered three scoring chances in the first half. “The way we started this game, exactly how you want to start,” Dalton said. “We had opportunities in other moments of the match, but we didn’t use them, we didn’t get into the game when we should have. … The result should have looked much different.” Lutz missed a 44-yard field goal. Kamara’s run was loaded on fourth and first. And after Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu intercepted Darnold near the goal line, New Orleans came back when Olave fumbled inside the Carolina 25-yard line. The Panthers, outscored by a 234-yard 60 in the first half, opened the second half with a 14-play, 82-yard drive to tie the game at 7 after Jordan’s fumble recovery. Under first-year coach Dennis Allen, the Saints finished the season with a 10-game losing 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 makes decisions about anything 30 minutes after we leave the field.” EJECTED Panthers running back D’Onta Foreman and Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport were each ejected in the third quarter for hits after the whistle, moments after Davenport checked Foreman for no gain. Foreman had 12 carries for 67 yards. Davenport was in three matches. INJURIES Panthers: Marquis Haynes appeared to injure his ankle in the first half. Left tackle Brady Christensen was taken to the locker room on a gurney in the first half. Saints: Rookie offensive tackle Trevor Penning limped off for the first time in his career with an apparent leg injury with 1:33 left. UP NEXTPanthers: Offseason begins 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 on all three units, entering free agency. The club’s future at QB is also uncertain.
If Steve Wilks coached his last game for the Panthers, he can walk away knowing his players haven’t given up on him.
Eddy Pineiro hit a 42-yarder 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 following the firing of Matt Rhule. “We’ve dealt with so much adversity throughout the year, and for those guys to get the wheels turning again and find a way to come together and win football is extremely impressive.”
The Saints finished with a big statistical advantage, outgaining Carolina 304 yards to 203, but the game remained close until the end as New Orleans failed 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 tough 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 failed to move the ball on three plays, and Wil Lutz missed a 55-yard field goal — his second of the game.
Darnold moved Carolina (7-10) within field goal range in the final minute with a touchdown run, followed by just his fifth completion of the game — a 21-yard strike to former LSU receiver Terrace Marshall Jr.
Darnold finished 5 of 15 for 43 yards and two interceptions, winning despite having a 2.8 quarterback rating. But the Panthers rushed for 171 yards, led by Chub 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 by Panthers linebacker Michael Jordan in the end zone.
New Orleans’ Andy Dalton was 15 of 25 for 171 yards and one touchdown against Chris Olave. Alvin Kamara ran 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 squandered three scoring chances in the first half.
“The way we started this game, it’s exactly how you want to start,” Dalton said. “We had opportunities in other moments of the match, but we didn’t use them, we didn’t get into the game when we should have. … The result should have looked much different.”
Lutz missed a 44-yard field goal. Kamara’s run was loaded on fourth and first. And after Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu intercepted Darnold near the goal line, New Orleans turned it over when Olave fumbled inside Carolina’s 25-yard line.
The Panthers, who were outgained 234 to 60 in the first half, opened the second half with a 14-play, 82-yard drive to tie the game at 7 after Jordan’s fumble recovery.
Under first-year coach Dennis Allen, the Saints finished the season with 10 losses 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 makes any decisions about anything 30 minutes after we leave the field.”
KICKED OUT
Panthers running back D’Onta Foreman and Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport were each ejected in the third quarter for hits after the whistle, moments after Davenport checked Foreman for no gain. Foreman had 12 carries for 67 yards. Davenport had three hits.
INJURIES
Panthers: Marquis Haynes appeared to injure his ankle in the first half. Left fielder Brady Christensen was taken to the locker room on a gurney in the first half.
Saints: Rookie offensive tackle Trevor Penning limped off for the first time in his career with an apparent leg injury with 1:33 left.
FOLLOWING
Panthers: Start the 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 on all three units, entering free agency. The club’s future at QB is also uncertain.