Saints vs Panthers live updates: Ready for the draft? Bridgewater struggles in blowout

The No. 1 overall seed and the NFC’s only bye in the first round of the playoffs are on the line Sunday afternoon.

The Saints, Seahawks and Packers are challenging for the spot and all kick off at 4:25 p.m. New Orleans plays in Charlotte against the Panthers, who are trying to close out the season with back-to-back wins despite their postseason hopes being shattered more than a month ago.

The Charlotte Observer has five journalists at the stadium for the Saints-Panthers game and will be providing updates throughout the afternoon below. A photo gallery of shots from the game will also be at the bottom of this story.

Many media members who followed the team predicted five wins for Carolina, and that was assuming a healthy Christian McCaffrey.

Well, McCaffrey didn’t play much — and he didn’t play in Sunday’s 33-7 season-ending loss to New Orleans — and the Panthers still landed on five wins. They lost a lot of close games, but every week the game announcers would comment, like Sunday, how hard the team played for rookie head coach Matt Rhule.

Jeremy Chinn emerged as a defensive star. The Panthers had multiple players with 1,000 yards from scrimmage. There are things to build on.

Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, however, may not be one of them.

Bridgewater, given a $63 million dollar contract to come to Charlotte, had a tough second half of the season and a really poor final game. He was 13-of-23 for 176 yards, and he threw two interceptions in the end zone. Bridgewater was replaced by PJ Walker in the third quarter. Walker threw an interception on his second pass attempt in the third quarter and threw two more in the fourth.

By then, Bridgewater had ice around his right ankle and was limping after taking a hard hit near the end zone in the first half.

That injury may’ve affected his throwing ability, but he was not good Sunday and struggled to finish the season. His QB rating of 44.8 against New Orleans was one of the lowest of his career, and Sunday’s game was the third time in his career that Bridgewater had thrown no touchdowns and two or more interceptions in the same game.

Of those three times, two came this year: Sunday and back in Week 2 against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Bucs.

All that could lead to the Panthers drafting his replacement later this year with a top 10 pick (or maybe looking at a free agent).

New Orleans, meanwhile, had a season-high five takeovers — all interceptions — and locked up the No. 2 seed in the playoffs.

▪ For Carolina, Walker was 5-of-14 for 95 yards and three interception. Curtis Samuel (7 catches, 118 yards) and DJ Moore (5-101) had good games.

▪ New Orleans QB Drew Bree was 22-of-32 for 201 yards. Ty Montgomery ran 18 times for 105 yards, moving from slot receiver to running back.

AUSTIN CARR TD, NEW ORLEANS 33, CAROLINA 7

14:55, Fourth quarter: Drew Brees threw his third touchdown of the game and Carr was the third different receiver to catch one. The 11-yard score probably sealed the No. 2 seed for New Orleans and a top 8 pick for Carolina.

TAYSOM HILL TD, NEW ORLEANS 26, CAROLINA 7

4:56, Third Quarter: Taysom Hill ran QB power over the right side on two straight plays, the second for a 3-yard score. New Orleans got the short field after intercepting Panthers backup QB PJ Walker, who replaced starter Teddy Bridgewater.

Teddy Bridgewater benched in the third quarter

After throwing his second interception in the end zone of the game, Teddy Bridgewater was replaced by PJ Walker. Walker was intercepted on his first series, throwing behind Curtis Samuel. Marshon Lattimore got the interception. New Orleans got the ball at the Carolina 24.

Teddy Bridgewater throws second INT in the end zone

Trying to cut into a 12-point deficit, Teddy Bridgewater had a 44-yard completion to DJ Moore where Moore jumped up and stole the ball away from double coverage. That pass could’ve easily been intercepted.

Moments later, Bridgewater tried for a 19-yard scoring pass to Ian Thomas. Thomas was open, but the ball -- being thrown into double coverage -- was underthrown and New Orleans corner Grant Haley got his first career NFL interception. The Saints lead 19-7 in the third quarter.

Bridgewater’s right ankle was heavily wrapped in ice on the sidelines.

WIL LUTZ FG, SAINTS 19, PANTHERS 7

11:49, Third Quarter: Lutz hit a 48-yard field goal after Jeremy Chinn’s pressure forced an errant Drew Brees throw on third down, ending a promising Saints drive. The Saints get the No. 2 playoff seed with a win and drop to No. 3 with a loss. Coach Sean Payton told Fox at halftime that being No. 2 was important.

WIL LUTZ FG, SAINTS 16, PANTHERS 7

0:05 seconds, Second Quarter: Drew Brees missed what could have been a touchdown pass just before halftime, but Wil Lutz kicked through a 33-yard field goal for a 9-point halftime lead.

EMMANUEL SANDERS TD: SAINTS 13, PANTHERS 7

8:12 Second Quarter: After the Bridgewater pass, New Orleans quickly moved down the field, scoring on Drew Brees’ 8-yard pass over the middle to Emmanuel Sanders. Wil Lutz missed the PAT, his first miss of the season on that type of kick.

Teddy Bridgewater throws end zone interception

Teddy Bridgewater, hunting a touchdown pass from the New Orleans 18, tried to squeeze a pass into Curtis Samuel, but Malcolm Jenkins stepped in front of the pass and returned in from three yards deep into the end zone to near midfield with about 10 minutes left in the second quarter.

RODNEY SMITH TD: PANTHERS 7, SAINTS 7

1:40, First Quarter: After a great 26-yard catch by Curtis Samuel and a scramble from Teddy Bridgewater, rookie Rodney Smith finished an impressive drive with a 1-yard run over the left side.

JARED COOK TD: SAINTS 7, PANTHERS 0

9:04, First Quarter: The Saints got a short field after a good punt return, converted a fourth and 1 and scored on a 18-yard pass from Drew Brees to Jared Cook.

Panthers 2021 opponents named

The 2020 season is almost over for the Carolina Panthers.

With that, all eyes will turn to Fall 2021. Carolina will finish third in the NFC South with the Atlanta Falcons (4-12) losing 23-10 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-5).

Next year, the NFC South plays the AFC East and NFC East. The Panthers will also play the third-place finisher in the NFC North and the NFC West.

It is likely that the 2021 season will include a 17th game for the first time. If that is the case, it has been reported that the NFC South may play the AFC South.

Here is the full list of teams the Carolina Panthers will play in the 2021 NFL season.

CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY IS INJURED AND WON’T PLAY VS. New Orleans Saints

For the 13th and final time this season, Christian McCaffrey will miss the Panthers’ game. He’s still sidelined as he recovers from a quad/thigh injury he tweaked three weeks ago during practice.

McCaffrey has missed six games this season with a high-ankle sprain, three with an injury to his AC joint and four now with this quad ailment.

Also out for this game are Panthers running back Mike Davis and defensive end Brian Burns.

The Saints will be without their entire running back room, led by Alvin Kamara, who will miss the game due to COVID-19 protocol.

For a full list of inactives, we have you covered here.

WHAT CHANNEL IS THE PANTHERS-Saints GAME ON AND HOW DO I STREAM IT?

Today’s 4:25 p.m. kickoff between the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte will be broadcast on Fox. You can stream the game on FoxSports.com by logging in through your cable or satellite provider. It’s also available on YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV with a valid subscription.

In Charlotte, the game will be broadcast locally on WJZY.

If you are unable to view the game, we will provide live updates and video and photo highlights on this page.

This story was originally published January 3, 2021 at 3:53 PM.