The New Orleans Saints won a nail-biter over the Carolina Panthers, with kicker Wil Lutz pushing a 33-yard field goal through the uprights as time expired. It followed a successful drive downfield that began when Panthers kicker Joey Slye missed his own would-be game-winner from 28 yards out.
It would be nice if the final score of 34-31 didn’t indicate how closely the Saints played this game, but that’s not the case. New Orleans backed themselves into a corner with 12 penalties, giving up 123 yards of field positioning. The Panthers took advantage of many of those opportunities, though inconsistent kicking from Slye (who went 1-for-3 on extra point tries, and 2-for-3 on field goal attempts) ended up costing them.
Good news for the Saints surrounds the increased involvement of tight end Jared Cook, who caught 6 of 8 targets for 99 yards and a touchdown score. Cook consistently made plays after the catch and down the seam, giving the Saints a viable option downfield opposite Michael Thomas (who turned in a typical 10-for-11, 110-yard showing).
It’s been a quiet few weeks for second-year defensive end Marcus Davenport, but something has to be said for his performance in clutch time. Davenport set up Carolina’s botched final field goal with a huge sack on third down and followed it up by leaping over the Panthers’ blockers, spooking Slye into an off-target chip shot. He made big plays in the game’s biggest moments.
So New Orleans improved to 9-2 on the year so far, while Carolina fell to 5-6. All eyes now are on the Sunday Night Football matchup between the projected top two playoff seeds: the 9-1 San Francisco 49ers and 8-2 Green Bay Packers. If the 49ers win, the Saints will have a shot at controlling their own destiny when San Francisco visits on Dec. 8. If the Packers win, New Orleans has to hope Green Bay drops a loss down the stretch, or the NFC’s top playoff seed could be out of reach.
