By Lucas Vola — January 3, 2022 at 1:37 am
Thanks to Cameron Jordan and his defensive squad partners, the Saints still have a (small) chance of qualifying.
New Orleans Saints (8-8) – Carolina Panthers (5-11) : 18-10
For a few weeks now, the recipe has been known in Louisiana: defense, a lot of defense, and a touch of attack. This Sunday, we had to wait until the very end of the match to see an offensive spark. Before that, the squad of Denis Allen and the foot of Brett Maher (4/4) kept the Saints in this meeting.
The balance is still fragile, but at the start of the last game of the season, Sean Payton’s men still believe in the playoffs.
The best defense in the NFL right now
At the start of the game, however, we think that the Panthers came to pose serious offensive problems for the locals. Carolina scores points on its first two drives. A field and a touchdown of 21 yards from Chuba Hubbard (17 races, 55 yards and 1 TD) which concludes an offensive series of 81 yards. 10 points in less than 20 minutes then… nothing for the rest of the match. Sam Darnold (17/26, 132 yards and 1 INT) is shaken in all directions and finds no solution. It must be said that he is facing what is best in defense in the NFL today.
« Guess who? Cam Jordan! » ????????
Cam and Kwon take down Darnold again ????
????: FOX pic.twitter.com/L71OwurGIi— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) January 3, 2022
Throughout the game, New Orleans will only collect 178 yards. On the ground, Chuba Hubbard and Ameer Abdullah break their teeth with an average of 3.4 yards gained per race for Carolina. In the air, nobody manages to free themselves from the marking (the best receiver will be Ian Thomas with 33 yards) and especially the “front seven” is incredible. The Saints will finish with 7 sacks on Sam Darnold. Figurehead of this pass-rush, Cameron Jordan once again delivers a very high level performance with 3.5 sacks, 3 QB Hits, 8 tackles and 3 tackles for loss.
Alvin Kamara folds the match
On the other side of the ball, on the other hand, it is much slower. Taysom Hill (17/28, 222 yards and 1 TD + 12 races and 45 yards) does not show much more than since his arrival in the NFL: a hyper-athletic pitcher with still a lot of gaps. Fortunately, Marquez Callaway (6 receptions for 97 yards) does not hesitate to pull out all the stops to capture some balls. Thanks to him in particular and to Alvin Kamara (13 races and 32 yards + 5 receptions, 68 yards and 1 TD), New Orleans has a string of field goals. Four in all to stick to the Panthers and even pass in front at the end of the third quarter (12-10).
But we have to wait until the end of the fourth to finally see the runner from the Saints dig a definitive gap. A 12-yard pass from Hill for Kamara 7 minutes from the end of the game which bends the match. Sam Darnold and his family will never return, despite two drives to equalize. The Saints welcome the Falcons next week and they will need a victory and a small miracle to qualify for the playoffs. But isn’t the miracle in Louisiana already to be still in the race for the playoffs in week 18?