Bryce Young took the Panthers 64 yards in five plays for the first game-winning touchdown drive of his career. Last year’s No. 1 pick had a couple of really nice plays on the game-winning drive, both involving rookies. He hit first-round pick Xavier Legette for a 26-yard gain over the middle to convert a third-and-10, then lofted a ball to tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders on the next play to draw a 22-yard pass interference penalty on Demario Davis.
Chuba Hubbard took it from there with a 16-yard touchdown run. A costly delay of game penalty – the Panthers’ third in the past two games – backed them up 5 yards on the two-point conversion, which failed when Young was sacked. That left Carolina up 23-22 with 2:18 left, and put the game in the hands of the defense. Young presumably did enough to earn another start next week in Munich against the New York Giants.
The Panthers’ defense had bent a lot of the afternoon, but for the most part didn’t break. And Ejiro Evero’s group came up big on the Saints’ final series. On second-and-10, Charles Harris and Jadeveon Clowney combined for the Panthers’ first sack of the game in dropping Derek Carr for a 6-yard loss. A completion to Alvin Kamara left the Saints with a fourth-and-4. Carr looked deep down the left sideline for Cedrick Wilson, but cornerback Mike Jackson broke it up to seal it.
With the victory, the Panthers matched last year’s win total and will carry some positive vibes across the Atlantic for next week’s game in Germany.
GO FURTHER
Bryce Young leads late TD drive as Panthers hand Saints seventh straight loss: Key takeaways
