Week 13: Panthers 41, Saints 38
The details
After three weeks of total domination, the Carolina Panthers were due for a game like this.
Sure, the Saints had a losing record but it’s a divisional rival at home with something to play for.
Carolina didn’t steamroll the Saints like it did Tennessee and Washington and Dallas, but the Panthers (12-0) remained undefeated with their 41-38 victory against the Saints.
“Things don’t usually happen at all, let alone to us ... it was that day, “ tight end Greg Olsen said. “But when you can win on your bad days, that says a lot about your team.”
The Panthers had clinched the NFC South title before the opening kickoff by virtue of Tampa Bay’s victory against Atlanta. It’s the third consecutive division title and third consecutive playoff berth for Carolina, the first time in franchise history either of those things has happened.
In a game that featured five lead changes, the Panthers were down four points in the final minutes. They converted a crucial fourth down on a Cam Newton pass to Olsen to the New Orleans 30.
That eventually led to the game-winning, 15-yard touchdown pass from Newton to Jerricho Cotchery. Jonathan Jones
They said it
“It’s a physical sport. It’s not ballet. ... It’s a collision sport. I know that and I understand that. But I’m fine.” – Newton, on the big hits he took on Sunday
“We missed some today. We threw a couple long, we threw a couple over the tops of heads and we did drop some. It’s going to happen. The thing you have to do is go in and make plays and that’s what happened.” – Rivera
“It wasn’t pretty at all, and I take my hats off to those guys on the Saints. But you know, we’re 12-0 in the NFL. That doesn’t happen. You can’t wake up and get out of bed and say, ‘I think we’re going to go 12-0.’” – Josh Norman
The weirdness
Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera was upset with his coaching staff for allowing 12 men to break the huddle at least twice in the victory over New Orleans. Saints coach Sean Payton counted three and said Sunday those are calls that get made by high school football officials.
And if you go by Payton’s total of three, all of the plays on referee Brad Allen’s watch happened at crucial moments in the game.
“Those are easy, easy things to see, and it’s frustrating,” Payton told New Orleans reporters. “But again, we don’t make excuses. That’s not why. I’m just angry because those were critical situations.”
The first came in the first quarter as the Panthers faced a fourth-and-1 from the New Orleans 41. Fullback Mike Tolbert was the 12th man in the huddle and ran off the field as the Saints called a timeout so Payton could draw the officials’ attention. There was no flag on the play.
After the timeout, Cam Newton optioned into a naked bootleg and ran along the left side 30 yards for the first down.
The second instance came early in the third quarter with the Panthers facing second-and-goal at the Saints’ 1. The Panthers broke the huddle with 12 men again – this time receiver Devin Funchess was the likely 12th – and lined up for the play.
Payton wanted a flag but the officials apparently didn’t see the 12 men. Rivera got a timeout before the ball was snapped.
Because there was no play, it’s not reviewable. Payton threw the red challenge flag but was told that he could not challenge it because there was no play with 12 men on the field. Carolina scored two plays later.
The final non-call came with less than 4 minutes remaining. The Panthers were down 38-34 with the ball at their 43 on third-and-5.
Tight end Ed Dickson ran off the field as the Panthers lined up on the play. Fox announcer Joe Buck said Payton was “livid” on the sideline, supposedly trying to get the official to call a penalty for 12 men. The ball was snapped and Newton threw to Ted Ginn Jr., who dropped a sure touchdown pass. But a defensive holding penalty was called and the Panthers got a fresh set of downs.
Seven plays later, Carolina scored the game-winning touchdown.
Hot takes
Jonathan Jones: For better or worse, quintessential Ted Ginn Jr. was on full display in the Superdome.
You saw the Carolina Panthers wide receiver’s speed as he ran away from a linebacker in coverage. You saw the dropped pass, and then you saw another. And you saw touchdowns.
A nine-year veteran, Ginn will wow and he will disappoint. That is who he’s been since coming to the league in 2007 where he was labeled a bust in Miami and then an afterthought in San Francisco.
But he flourished with the Carolina Panthers in his first stint here in 2013 and he’s picked it back up in his second act in 2015.
“I know I didn’t come down with a couple of catches today but the ones I did come down with put points on the board, “ Ginn said.
If the outcome of the game had been different – if Carolina had not won 41-38 to move to 12-0 on the season – then perhaps Ginn wouldn’t have been so optimistic about his performance.
Make no mistake: Those drops were crucial.
Tom Sorensen: This 11-0 stuff looked so simple. Going into Sunday’s game, the Carolina Panthers had beaten Tennessee by 17 and then Washington by 28 and then, on Thanksgiving, Dallas by 19.
Line up, overwhelm the opponent with superior defense or offense or both and remain undefeated. Step right up. Who’s next?
The New Orleans Saints were. What happened at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome is a testament to how challenging, odds-defying and terribly difficult it is for any NFL team to open a season with 12 straight victories.
Even though Carolina made more mistakes than it had in the last month, it won 41-38.
For the third straight season, the Panthers are the NFC South champs.
And for the first time in almost a month, this one did not look easy.
Joseph Person: Cam Newton was battered and bruised.
But he wasn’t beaten – or concussed, as it turns out.
On a day when the Panthers tried to give their perfect season away, Newton wouldn’t let them.
Clearly hurting after taking a hit on the Panthers’ game-winning drive, Newton stayed in the game, stayed in the pocket and delivered a 15-yard touchdown strike to Jerricho Cotchery with just more than a minute left.
This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 3:00 AM with the headline "Week 13: Panthers 41, Saints 38."