CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints still have one of the league's top-scoring offenses, but lately it's the defense that's been carrying them.
On a night when Brees and the offense couldn't get much going and made some uncharacteristic mistakes, New Orleans put the clamps on Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers in a 12-9 victory Monday night, moving the Saints into position to lock up home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs.
"I believe in us, game in and game out, first quarter to fourth quarter," defensive end Cameron Jordan said. "If it comes down to a crucial play, I believe in us."
The Saints (12-2) held an opponent to 17 points or fewer for a sixth consecutive game. They limited Newton to 131 yards passing, sacked him 4 times and forced 2 turnovers. Carolina (6-8), which lost its sixth consecutive game, had just 247 yards and 13 first downs. The Panthers' only scores came on a trick play on fourth down and an interception return on a two-point conversion attempt.
"So proud of the defense," Saints Coach Sean Payton said. "I thought they were outstanding. It's tough to win a division game on the road, and we were able to do that."
Alvin Kamara had 103 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown, and Brees had 203 yards passing for the Saints, who took a one-game lead in the NFC over the Rams. The Saints close the season at home against Pittsburgh and Carolina; the Rams visit Arizona and host San Francisco.
Newton struggled throwing the ball more than 10 yards downfield because of a lingering sore right shoulder. He said after the game he's unsure what the injury is, but he mentioned his labrum and rotator cuff as possible issues. He has been limited in practice for weeks and doesn't have the zip on the ball he normally has.
Newton said his shoulder simply isn't getting better -- or worse -- but he refused to blame the injury, saying, "I have to be better."
The Panthers struck first after offensive coordinator Norv Turner dug into his bag of tricks.
On a fourth and 2 from midfield, Christian McCaffrey got a handoff, took a step toward the line, then stepped back and lofted a pass over the middle to tight end Chris Manhertz, who was 15 yards behind the defense. Manhertz trotted into the end zone for a 50-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
It was McCaffrey's first career pass attempt, although he threw two TD passes while at Stanford. He became the first non-QB to throw a TD pass in Panthers' history.
New Orleans trailed 7-6 at halftime after two field goals from Wil Lutz.
New Orleans 3 3 0 6 -- 12
Carolina 7 0 0 2 -- 9
First Quarter
Car--Manhertz 50 pass from McCaffrey (Catanzaro kick), 4:02.
NO--FG Lutz 46, 2:16.
Second Quarter
NO--FG Lutz 24, 9:56.
Fourth Quarter
NO--Kamara 16 run (pass failed), 12:12.
Attendance--74,188.
NO Car
First downs 21 13
Total Net Yards 346 247
Rushes-yards 32-155 23-98
Passing 191 149
Punt Returns 2-13 1-1
Kickoff Returns 1-50 1-26
Interceptions Ret. 1-0 1-29
Comp-Att-Int 23-35-1 17-30-1
Sacked-Yards Lost 2-12 4-32
Punts 4-42.0 6-39.8
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-1
Penalties-Yards 9-80 4-48
Time of Possession 35:09 24:51
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--New Orleans, Kamara 14-67, Ingram 12-63, T.Hill 1-17, Line 2-6, Lewis 1-4, Brees 2-(minus 2). Carolina, McCaffrey 15-53, Moore 1-22, C.Newton 5-15, Samuel 2-8.
PASSING--New Orleans, Brees 23-35-1-203. Carolina, C.Newton 16-29-1-131, McCaffrey 1-1-0-50.
RECEIVING--New Orleans, M.Thomas 7-49, Kamara 7-36, Kirkwood 2-40, J.Hill 2-24, Tr.Smith 2-15, Ingram 2-11, Watson 1-28. Carolina, McCaffrey 8-67, Wright 3-21, I.Thomas 2-14, Moore 2-12, Manhertz 1-50, Samuel 1-17.
Sports on 12/18/2018