The New Orleans Saints found a way to keep their playoff hopes alive by picking up a solid win over the Carolina Panthers last week. It was an 18-10 affair that was primarily focused on each team’s strength defensively as you could tell from the score. Carolina jumped out to an early 10-3 lead but wasn’t able to score the entire second half while the Saints fought their way back into the lead.
Taysom Hill had a nice day, throwing for 222 yards and a touchdown. He also led the team in rushing yards with 12 carries for 45 without a touchdown. Alvin Kamara didn’t have a great day either, though the team didn’t attempt to use him much on the ground. He came away with just 13 carries for 32 total yards. He did score the team’s first touchdown in nearly a month though, on a reception. It was just one of his five that totaled 68 yards. Marquez Callaway was the only other bright spot offensively. He had six catches for 97 total yards. He made some huge grabs that really showcased his potential, then he went and dropped three easy catches which stalled drives out. The offensive line was once again terrible, but with so many guys out that was kind of expected here. Flipping over to their defense, Cameron Jordan played like a man possessed. For the third straight week, Jordan had two plus sacks. This week he pulled away with 3.5 against Sam Darnold and the Panthers. They also forced a fumble courtesy of P.J. Williams. Lastly, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson grabbed an interception to seal the game on the final drive.
As for the Panthers, they didn’t have a bad game. Darnold couldn’t throw the ball, which turned out to be the problem. He had 132 yards, no touchdowns and an interception in the contest. Those aren’t stats you want from your franchise quarterback. Cam Newton on the other hand played just one snap, rushing once for five yards. Chuba Hubbard looked good, taking 17 carries for 55 yards and a touchdown. However, that was really it for this team. Nobody stood out offensively and defensively they didn’t force any turnovers at all. Their young kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made a 32-yard field goal, but missed another one that could have been seriously helpful down the stretch.
For the rest of the teams in the division, it wasn’t an amazing week. The Atlanta Falcons got knocked out of playoff contention after losing to the Buffalo Bills in a game that had freezing weather. Then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers picked up a win over the New York Jets, albeit a win that needed a long final minute touchdown drive in order to happen. Also, it was the game that saw Antonio Brown storm off the field in the middle of the third quarter after taking off the top half of his jersey. Then he was informed that he was no longer a Buccaneer, leaving the Bucs with very little receiving options.