Saints pull away from Panthers to win defensive battle on MNF

CHARLOTTE, NC — Monday night’s NFC South matchup between the host Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints featured No. .

The Saints finally scored the first touchdown of the game late in the third quarter and pulled away late to win 20-17. The Saints head into Week 3 at 2-0, while the Panthers fall to 0-2.

New Orleans Saints

The Saints’ defense will be awarded the MVP award for the second week in a row. The unit bailed out another rough day for the offense with a scary performance against the Panthers and Young. The defense kept the rookie quarterback on his heels most of the night, holding him to 22 completions for 153 yards, thanks to a four-man rush that accounted for four sacks. The Saints offense struggled again, failing to score in the first half for the second week in a row but was able to keep the momentum going after a 42-yard pass to Chris Olave set up a touchdown. in the third quarter.

Disturbing trends: The play of the offensive line. There’s real talent on an offensive line full of first-round picks, but the unit hasn’t been able to put things together this season. The Saints allowed Derek Carr to be sacked four times, bringing his season total to eight through two games. Although they found more success in the run game than last week, running back Jamaal Williams left the game early with a hamstring issue.

QB breakdown: Carr didn’t have an easy time of it early, throwing a poor interception and it looked like his timing with his receivers was a little off. The Saints should have settled for field goals instead of getting into the end zone. But, like last week, he was able to make plays when it counted. The downfield throw to Olave was either team’s first 20-yarder all night, and it seemed to make something click, as he followed it up with another key throw to Rashid Shaheed and another throw to Olave that set up the final touchdown. .

Interesting stat: The Saints have allowed 20 points or fewer for a franchise-record 10th straight game, dating back to last season, and it’s no fluke. The Saints’ defense allowed fewer than 300 net yards for the second straight week and tallied four more sacks, bringing their total to seven. The only blemish on their record so far is the Panthers’ late touchdown with 1:16 minutes left in the game. It was the first touchdown allowed by the Saints this season.

Next game: at Packers (1 pm ET, Monday)

Carolina Panthers

Young and the Panthers’ offense weren’t ready for primetime Monday night at Bank of America Stadium. The top draft pick turned in a poor performance, though it wasn’t all Young’s fault. His offensive line was often broken, putting the former Alabama star under constant pressure against four-man rushes. But when under pressure, Young never responded until a fourth-quarter scramble for 26 yards. After going 2-for-10 passing and being sacked once against pressure in the opener, he was 3-for-8 for 13 yards with four sacks and a fumble.

He did a great job of getting rid of the ball and making some plays with his legs, but he never got it going in the passing game – he still didn’t complete more than 15 yards. All of these factors are why Carolina has scored just two touchdowns in the first two games, and Young’s inexperience continues to be front and center.

Disturbing trends: Young and the Panthers on third down. The Panthers were 4 of 14 on third down, and Young was a big reason for the inefficiency, going 4-for-9 for 32 yards with two sacks and two scrambles on third downs.

Biggest hole in the game plan: What to do on third-and-short. The Panthers can’t use the quarterback sneak because Young (5-foot-10, 204 pounds) isn’t big enough to do that. Moreover, he had no experience with it. That’s why Carolina needs to bring backup quarterback Andy Dalton to games. The first time there was a false start. The second, Dalton started running back Miles Sanders for a first down, but it could be a continuity issue.

Main game: On the first series of the second half, Young had a strip sack to put the Saints in the red zone with a 6-3 lead. It would have been disastrous, but the play was called off, thanks to a defensive holding penalty. This allowed Carolina to stay within striking distance until the end.

Next game: at Seahawks (4:05 pm ET, Sunday)