NEW ORLEANS - The first half of Sunday's regular season finale between the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints took on the look of a game where the team possessing the ball last would win. In the second half, however, only the Saints kept up the pace.After the Panthers tied the game late in the first half, the Saints responded with 28 unanswered points to pull away for a 45-17 victory at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.The Panthers (6-10) entered the finale with victories in four of their previous five games but couldn't keep it going against a New Orleans team (13-3) heading to the playoffs.
On a day when the Saints passed the 2000 St. Louis Rams as the most prolific offense in NFL history before halftime, they piled up 617 yards of total offense and 33 first downs. The Panthers had 235 yards in the first half but just 66 in the second half to total 301. Panthers rookie quarterback Cam Newton finished 15-of-25 for 158 yards and rushed for 32 yards. He became the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for 500 yards in a season. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees finished 389 passing yards and five touchdowns before sitting out most of the fourth quarter.
The game was up for grabs at halftime, with New Orleans leading 24-17, but the Saints seized control in the third quarter. While New Orleans forced Carolina into the first three punts of the game on its first three second-half possessions, the Saints continued kicking extra points to blow it open at 45-17.
CARRY ON
No comments:
Post a Comment