Mark Ingram ran for 100 yards on 30 carries with two touchdowns while Drew Brees added another touchdown through the air and on the ground as the New Orleans Saints defeated the Carolina Panthers by a score of 28-10 on Thursday Night. The win lifted New Orleans over Carolina and into first place in the NFC South with a record of 4-4. They hold a half-game lead over the Panthers who sit at 3-5-1.
The win was huge for New Orleans who have lost their last seven games on the road dating back to November 21, 2013 when they beat the Atlanta Falcons 17-13. Ironically, that game was on a Thursday night as well.
It took a while for the scoring to start after the Saints first drive stalled when Drew Brees threw a pick on third-and-six from the Carolina 13-yard line. After that, neither team could get past the opponent’s 38 yard line turning the game into a battle of field position.
That was until Cam Newton fumbled the ball while being sacked on a third-and-nine from his own eight-yard line. Linebacker Curtis Lofton recovered the ball at the four-yard line. The first score of the game came two plays later when Mark Ingram burst over the right side and into the end zone from three yards out.
New Orleans struck again quickly after holding Carolina to a quick three-and-out using their final timeout and the two-minute warning to get the ball back with 1:49 left in the half. Drew Brees drove the Saints down the field. They were aided by a defensive pass interference call which gave them the ball on the one-yard line with six seconds remaining; if the call was not made, they would have had to settle for a 50-yard field goal. Brees found Graham for the touchdown on the next play. With that, the Saints went into halftime with a 14-0 lead.
Carolina took the kickoff to start the second half in need of a big drive led by Cam Newton. That is exactly what they got. The big play on that drive came on the first play when Newton connected with DeAngelo Williams for a gain of 30 yards to get the ball to midfield. They nickel-and-dimed the Saints through their territory before Newton ran for a 10-yard touchdown on a third down to bring the score back to within a touchdown.
Not to be outdone, Brees came out on the next drive and showed why he is a top-tier quarterback in the National Football League. A great mixture of run and pass down the field before taking the ball in himself to cap off a 14-play, 80-yard drive that took of 6:10 of clock time.
The final touchdown of the game came two drives later for the Saints after a 31-yard field from Graham Gano cut the lead to 11. Brees recovered from a first play sack to lead New Orleans on a 13-play, 80-yard drive taking off 7:27 of the fourth quarter to essentially put the game away.
New Orleans returns home to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for a big game against the San Francisco 49ers next Sunday afternoon. Carolina hits the road after a short two-game homestand for a Monday night matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles next week.