The New Orleans Saints finished off the regular season with a 42-10 road victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. With the win, the Saints improved to 13-3 overall on the season.
How It Happened:
The Saints struck first by scoring on the opening drive as Alvin Kamara scored on a 15-yard run. The Saints would extend its lead with another touchdown run by Kamara, this one from one yard out, at the end of the first quarter.
The Saints blew the game wide open in the second quarter.
Former Carolina linebacker A.J. Klein picked off a pass and returned it back for a 14-yard touchdown which gave New Orleans a 21-0 lead.
Drew Brees got in on the scoring action as well as the NFL record-setting quarterback threw a pair of touchdown passes in the second quarter. The first was a 1-yard pass to Tre’Quan Smith and then second was a 21-yard pass to tight end Jared Cook.
Carolina did manage to put points on the scoreboard before the break with a 23-yard Joey Syle Field goal.
The two teams traded touchdown drives in the third quarter.
Brees connected with backup quarterback-wide receiver Taysom Hill for a 45-yard touchdown while Carolina scored its lone touchdown of the game — a 1-yard run by Christian McCaffery.
McCaffery was held to 26 yards rushing on 9 carries while he caught 7 receptions for 72 yards. That was good enough to have McCaffery eclipse 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving becoming only the third player in NFL history to accomplish the feat.
Neither team would score in the fourth and final quarter as the Saints picked up the 32-point victory.
Big Number: 8
The New Orleans Saints set a new NFL record on Sunday with committing only 8 turnovers this season. The previous low for turnovers committed in a regular season in NFL history was 10.
Player of the Game: Drew Brees
Drew Brees completed 19-of-30 for 253 yards and 3 touchdowns in Sunday’s win at Carolina.
Next Up: The Saints will be no lower than the No. 3 seed in the NFC playoffs but could earn a Top 2 seed if Seattle defeats San Francisco on Sunday night.