Plays to Love, Plays to Hate highlights the plays that have a significant impact in swinging momentum and impacting the eventual outcome of the game. There’s always plenty to hate about NFL officiating, so we will only focus on the plays on the field, not the refs. Let’s review the momentum-shifting plays that allowed the Panthers come away with a solid early season victory.
Three plays to love
DJ’s second quarter 74-yard score: The Saints offense had simply shredded the Panthers defense putting up two touchdowns on two drives to take a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter. Carolina now needed touchdowns to keep this one competitive, and that’s exactly what DJ Moore delivered. On second-and-14 he ran a deep post and incredibly found himself completely uncovered. DJ hauled what was likely the easiest 70-plus yard touchdown of his career to cut the Panthers deficit to 14-10 and keep hope alive.
Burns second quarter strip-sack: On the Saints drive following DJ’s long touchdown, Drew Brees and Co. had moved the ball into field goal range at the Carolina 25. On second-and-10 Brian Burns exploded off the edge and flew past left tackle James Hurst with an incredibly quick duck-under move. Burns hit Brees from behind as the Saints quarterback cocked the ball for a clutch strip-sack which was recovered by Marquis Haynes. This turnover likely took points off the board for New Orleans and set the stage for the Panthers to take a 17-14 lead on the subsequent possession. Brian Burns is special, friends.
Haynes dumps Kamara for a fourth quarter loss: The score was tied 24-24 with just over 10 minutes left in the game. New Orleans’ offense had driven down to the Carolina 29 after converting on third-and-5, third-and-6, and third-and-8. A Saints touchdown felt inevitable. But on first-and-10 Marquis Haynes wasn’t fooled on a misdirection pitch to Alvin Kamara and did a textbook job keeping contain. Haynes drilled the Saints elusive running back and dumped him for a four yard loss. It was the first impact play a Panthers defender had made in what felt like eternity. The negative play stalled the Saints drive and forced them into a field goal to take a 27-24 lead with 7:59 left, giving the Panthers offense a chance to tie or win the game with a final strong drive. Alas, that never happened.
Three plays to hate
Kamara’s 17-yard screen before halftime: The Panthers had momentum after going up 17-14 with 1:37 left in the first half. Saints drove down to Carolina 21 with just 24 seconds remaining and one timeout left. A stop or two by the Panthers defense would force the Saints into a field goal and a tied score at the half. But on first-and-10 New Orleans ran a screen to Alvin Kamara where both Adarius Taylor and Shaq Thompson got wiped out by lead blocking linemen and Eli Apple couldn’t get off a wide receiver block. Kamara sprinted down to the Carolina four yard line before being dragged down with five seconds left. The long gain got the Saints just close enough to try one final shot at the end zone before needing to settle for a field goal, and of course they ended up scoring a touchdown with one second left to take a 21-17 halftime lead. It was a disheartening sequence after the Panthers had battled back so hard to take the lead.
Pride can’t stop Kamara on third-and-14 in the third quarter: The Panthers trailed 21-17 with 8:45 left in the third quarter and were in perfect position to force a Saints punt. New Orleans faced third-and-14 from their own 37. Alvin Kamara caught a pass in the right flat at the line of scrimmage and needed to cover a lot of territory for a first down. Troy Pride Jr. broke on the pass as soon as the ball was thrown and made contact just after Kamara took his first step and got his head around. But Pride just slid right off Kamara who motored for a first down. If the notoriously elusive Kamara juked Pride Jr. in the open field then I’d give him a pass, but this was just bad tackling. The drive was extended and concluded with a Saints field goal to push their lead to 24-17.
Bridgewater takes an untimely fourth quarter sack: With 2:25 left in the game the Panthers trailed by three points and were in reasonable field goal range at the New Orleans 39. Facing third-and-11 the only thing Teddy Bridgewater couldn’t do was take a sack. Well, the Saints ran a stunt that got Marcus Davenport up the middle with only Mike Davis available to block him in the backfield. Davenport went through Davis and sacked Teddy for an eight yard loss pushing the ball to the New Orleans 47. With few options available, Matt Rhule went for a game-tying (and would-be NFL record) 65-yard field goal that fell just a few feet short. Game over.
Closing it out and summing it up
I have mixed feelings. I’m proud of this team for continuing to make every game competitive, but this was a frustrating loss. Carolina’s defense couldn’t get off the field, allowing New Orleans to convert an inexcusable 12-of-14 third downs. New Orleans was missing both Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders and yet the Panthers secondary allowed Marquez Callaway to register eight receptions (on 10 targets) for 75 yards. He had five career receptions entering the game.
It was great to see Curtis Samuel healthy and productive. He has now caught 19 of the last 20 balls thrown his way going back to Week 2. Jeremy Chinn’s eight tackles looked great on paper, but per PFF he struggled in pass coverage as he was targeted five times and gave up five receptions, four for first downs and one for a touchdown. News break: Brian Burns is a freak.
Man, I feel bad for Joey Slye. He was “thisclose” to making the longest field goal in NFL history and instead it will just show up as missed kick.
Carolina sits at 3-4 with a short week coming up. We’ll see if they can get back to .500 this Thursday against the hapless Atlanta Falcons.
Poll
Which play had the biggest impact on the Panthers loss?
This poll is closed
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16%
Kamara’s 17-yard screen before halftime
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17%
Pride can’t stop Kamara on third-and-14 in the third quarter
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65%
Bridgewater takes an untimely fourth quarter sack