Division Title on the Line: Saints vs. Panthers Week 16, 2013 FULL GAME!

[Music] [Applause] now [Music] who doesn't want to see this you want to see this aikman don't you absolutely what's at stake for the saints they clinched the division and a first round bye with a win here on the road they're under 500 on the road and they're sick of hearing about it and for the panthers if they win today against the saints they clinch a spot in the playoffs and for ron rivera in his third season what'd he tell us the other day why does everybody have so little patience for what's going on in the nfl and another week for thomas davis as they keep on pounding the drum last week became the first active player to have that honor and here's our day 71 degrees here as we approach christmas as we're in charlotte and there is a chance of rain a chance of heavy rain but that may come after the game is over which i would think would be good news for the new orleans saints the way they throw the ball and drew brees with a little bit firmer track i would think would be better suited yeah i would think that too joe but i know in visiting with head coach sean payton he thought a muddy surface a wet track would help him as well because of the pass rush that the carolina panthers are capable of bringing ted gin jr is going to wait for the kick and then we'll see cam newton and if you haven't seen cam newton in a while his game has really come together and on this windy day football is blowing off the tee so we'll see if somebody's gonna hold it or if they're gonna just try it without a holder and more stead will hope that it stays upright off we go good game gladly with us panthers will start at the 20. [Music] carolina checks in with the 25th ranked offense they have a good ground game that's led by deangelo williams and by their quarterback cam newton who has 28 rushing touchdowns over his first three seasons that's the most by far over three years in the history of the nfl for a quarterback's career and as ron rivera troy said first year he got by on his athleticism second year he started to see really what made the offense work and now it's come together well these are the games that define you as a quarterback chance to get into the playoffs i'm looking forward to watching him play both williams and tolbert in the backfield to start the day and it's going to be williams d'angelo got to the edge a nice start forced down by jenkins and we'll look at this offense [Applause] where do we start we start up front and the two vets are khalil at center gross and left tackle that nate chandler has some story at right guard boy sure is he was a tight end to ucla he was a defensive lineman this time last year started out playing offensive tackle in the off season they moved him to guard and he's done a nice job williams again and d'angelo is going to fight for first down hicks on the tackle and these two teams got into it a bit after the play was over and lafell and keenan lewis shoving each other at the end of the play well the saints and keenan lewis they can get used to that throughout this game brandon lafell he's had a nice year for this carolina team and he he's an outstanding blocker did a great job last week on that screen pass to get deangelo williams for the touchdown but he's he's been a great contributor this year for this team handoff is to williams williams is going to be dragged down but the hand was inside the pads and they're going to throw a flag maybe two on vacaro that could be two personal fouls one on the tackle by getting the hand inside of the shoulder pads the officials would talk it over and then there was more action on the sideline after the play pretty interesting there as kenny vaccaro comes in with the left hand and you know normally you see that horsepower the guy comes down immediately defense personal foul force caller tackle defense number 32 the penalties that climb also taunting number 32 defense that penalty is accepted first down so a taunt on the rookie vacaro after that and he was guilty two times yeah kenny bacaro he gets called on the horse caller and then he just gets caught up in the excitement of this ball game on the first possession and a costly penalty moves the ball out to the 45-yard line first down for carolina taking on this fifth ranked defense of the saints cam newton down here wildcat formation with tolbert in the backfield and now newton in motion back under center gonna air it out looking for smith and he's got it down to the 10. he talked about the lack of big plays coming into this game joe for carolina offensively in the passing game here on the first possession steve smith on the deep post pretty good coverage there along the way by keenan lewis he's just unable to get a hand on the ball that ball seemed like it hung up there for a while it looked like the backside corner was going to be able to make a play at one time but a big play for the panthers season long for steve smith 44 yards they marked him at the 11. and that's going to be a false start on hartsock a title start offense number 84 five-yard penalty still first down joey talked about the big plays or lacked thereof this year you can take a look and see how they've gone down each of the last three seasons last year they were very good in making big plays creating big plays in the passing game this year they've not been able to take many of them but they were able to complete a big play on that last one back to the wildcat newton spread out wide to the left d'angelo williams that didn't work no gain on the play let's look at his defense led by rob ryan in his first year after a couple of eight and eight finishes in dallas he comes to new orleans and he's got a fifth ranked defense after a dismal year defensively for the saints in 2012. they've been outstanding and rob ryan has done a great job for this defense and to carry the theme as far as big plays are concerned that's an area where this defense has been really good too so they have not given up the big pass plays like we just saw second and 15. newton protected passes tipped and picked a turnover and that's what the saints have been lacking malcolm jenkins gets the interception and for a defense that has only two takeaways over their last seven games jenkins was there after the tip and a big turnover for the panthers as they were moving in yeah ted ginn he's on the drag route and a ball that was just a little away from him and high and with plenty of time cam newton's got to deliver a little better ball that ball doesn't get popped in the air like that jenkins with the pick his second of the year and a big one to start this game this game is sponsored by southwest airlines find our fares online only at southwest.com crowd climbs into it as the saints defense gets their first interception the last 141 opponents pass attempts and now brees looking for grand pass broken up and a good job by quentin michael let's go back to the pick you're going to see cam newton with time to throw and he makes a good read on this he might have had olson across the middle but hawthorne stays in there but you see the ball away from ted yen and that's one you've got to be able to stick on to the receiver now malcolm jenkins comes up he makes a nice play off of the deflection and a good stop defensively as you said joe they've just not been able to create the takeaways here in recent weeks brees colston and the catch is made they're gonna mark colston looks like a little short of first down yardage again of nine melvin white and luke keikley on the stop it's been a fantastic run for drew brees and sean payton but now it's a rookie left tackle getting his first action in the offense yeah not only his first nfl start but his first offensive snaps he's been just a special teams player very limited even in that role pretty gutsy move by sean payton going with the rookie here today now third down and one handoff is to the fullback and it's collins plowing forward for a first down [Music] let's look at the defense and then we'll talk more about terron armstead as you look at this group and they have a second year middle linebacker troy that may be the best in the game as far as talent and age he's a good one luke geekley has been outstanding really this defense has been outstanding since he took over at middle linebacker midway through last year number two scoring defense in the nfl brees has off the right hand of colston [Applause] big team coming into this game for carolina defensively was they had to get physical with these receivers for the new orleans saints and they have started early they're impressed coverage not giving them free releases off the line of scrimmage i know ron rivera said that was the game plan going in two weeks ago and they didn't get a jam on anybody you know that that's been preached all week long colin cole is not able to get up so we'll take a break as they look at number 91 second and ten for the saints when we come back today's game is sponsored by bud light official beer sponsor of the nfl look at colin cole on the sideline prior to his second and ten for drew brees fifth all-time passing yardage in the history of the league pass is caught good throw good catch by sproles and traffic gain of eight you talked about luke keegley joe here in the middle of middle linebacker and you know he's the quarterback of that defense and when he sees formations and guys shifting and moving then he's got to get his own guys lined up in the proper spots and as you said a moment ago he does an outstanding job at that he can run sideline to sideline in fact him and thomas davis two of the fastest linebackers in all football third and two breeze has a first down and a catch by colston and we'll go for a game break here's joel clough all right joe let's check in on the cowboys after not getting many touches in the fourth quarter last week guess who demarco murray from three yards out on his first carry of the game cowboys up seven nothing over the redskins joe and troy joel thanks we just saw a first down catch by colston who had nine catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns when these two teams met two weeks ago in new orleans grays is set a loss of five on the play [Applause] you can see pierre thomas he recognizes it captain munderland on the blitz he comes over but mudderlin too quick hitting it and so pierre tom is just not able to secure that block otherwise brees would have been protected maybe a big play down the game or down the field we saw last week captain munderland a number of times against the new york jets come off the edge on the blitz and he does again with the sound had two sacks last week against the jets and he has one here today second down and 15. setting up the screen they do it for thomas and it's well played by thomas davis [Applause] thomas davis does an outstanding job joe of recognizing the screen and as i said he's very difficult to block because he is so fast and it's impressive i mean here's a guy who's had three acl surgeries and yet didn't lose a step trying to break that string of the saints third down and 16. another screen now it scrolls long way to go davis is there first to get to it and it's fourth down a gain of six by darren sproles and ron rivera who along with sean mcdermott the defensive coordinator putting this defense together for rivera it was a 28th ranked defense in his first year has climbed all the way to second here in 2013. that front seven is what's made it happen and thomas davis once again sniffing out the screenplay and not allowing new orleans pick up the first down panthers one of three teams across the nfl that has not allowed an opening drive touchdown all year fair catch there was contact with no flag as ted ginn jr ended up on his back explanations on the bench for the saints no score in charlotte this game on fox is sponsored by chevrolet find new roads cam newton is coming off his third red zone interception picked off by malcolm jenkins last time though panthers had it the first time the panthers had it ties for the most in the nfl and so this drive will start back at the 11. this is a this is an offense joe that up until two weeks ago had been really good in the red zone but they struggled against new orleans two weeks ago last week they were not good in the red zone and then they had the turnover didn't get any points on that driver [Applause] up just three let's go down to pam oliver well it will be worth watching how well steve smith catches those hard passes from cam newton today the carolina receiver injured the middle finger on his left hand in practice and the hand too is very very swollen he got five stitches and when he showed me the injury before the game the finger was very swollen red raw he said pain was also an issue but at least his eight-year-old son is proud smith said he called old dad's injury but gross second down and seven and a handoff is to williams and d'angelo out to the 15 and troy steve smith has been doing it for a long time here in carolina and he is still tough he can still run and he is he's a strong wide receiver you won't find a more competitive guy in all of football i remember when he came into the league joe back in 0-1 he was just brought in primarily as a return guy he wanted to play wide receiver they gave him a chance and as you said he's been doing it ever since but he is as tough as they come i'm not surprised he's out there playing even you noticed in pregame warm-ups that it was giving him some problems third down and six well it's coming from new orleans pass out of the reach of smith and now he comes up limping he lifted then he went down and he grabs at his left knee reach for it came down took a step and then down he went we'll see if we can see exactly you know what happened but the way that he came up and grabbing joe that does not look good 13-year player played collegially in utah and he as troy said is a fiery emotional guy and somebody the panthers desperately need out on the field here in this game against the saints a game where if they win it they're in the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and they check on that left knee we'll take a break 5 34 left first quarter fourth down for the panthers when we continue steve smith has not missed a game over the last three years they look at him they're awfully thin on the outside the panthers are without a guy like steve smith now punt from norton he hits a good one he's had a good year scrolls is back from about the 30. and a 10-yard return out to the 40 after a 55-yard punt from brad norton this january it's a showdown between two of the most explosive offenses in the country 13th ranked oklahoma state squares off against number eight missouri it's the 18t cotton bowl classic coverage begins friday january 3rd at 7 30 eastern only on fox it's going to be a great game joe and i'm a little biased living there in dallas but they roll out the red carpet on this team oh yeah they do they're playing in the big house right that's it drive starts at the 41 pass caught by michael and it's melvin white there for the tackle after a gain of six well we talked about armstead of course the rookie making the started left tackle and what we've seen here in the early going is he's going to get a little bit of help they've worked a tight end over to his side help chip that outside rusher and just give him enough help so he's not isolated and then when he has had one-on-one blocking they've asked drew brees to get the ball out of his hands quickly here's sproles left side tripped up third and short coming up tehran armstead is a guy who in the history of the combine where they test these collegiate players had the fastest time that a tackle has ever recorded he has a good vertical he's a good athlete he played a division two arkansas pine bluff he was a third round pick but there he is the rookie here in week 16 getting his first start at left tackle that kind of speed i wonder what kind of hands he has look for him as he moves through his career down around the goal line but i know sean payton said hey his demeanor his body language language was outstanding all week long and they have great confidence in him third down and three brees finds his man pass is caught and the catch made by the tight end watson and watson's got a first down at the 30 a catch and run of 23 yards well carolina they're going to bring some pressure something they didn't do in the early going last week's game it comes off the edge this time pierre thomas is able to get across the formation remember he cannot go right away even if he sees the guy coming because he's got to wait for that snap to clear before he can move across drew brees's face to make the block but they talked about it on the sidelines they're able to make the play steve smith will lead the field go in and get evaluated further as brees comes back over the middle and finds watson again a gain of four you know it's such a risk reward troy with a guy like drew brees all the great quarterbacks want to get the blitz and if you blitz brees and you don't get there number nine is the kind of guy that will just shred a secondary yeah and what we've seen is that like the last time these two teams met carolina has not been able to get pressure on brees with a four-man rush they've had to bring secondary players they got there with monolith they didn't before but you really expose those secondary players here's collins of fullback davis again it was one on one out there and thomas davis made the tackle a loss of two thomas davis has had a great start to this ball game and the biggest key is he's tackling when he has the opportunity we saw him on the two screen plays come up and make a play this time on jed collins that's a good job by thomas davis third down and eight braze is sacked that's hardy a loss of 11. they run a twist here and that's what you try to do with a young offensive lineman how do they handle it well armstead doesn't come off of it and recognize the leverage and what he has to do so hardy comes off of that block has a direct shot at drew brees for the sack that's a great job up front defensively for the panthers forcing a punt hardy did not have a sack in the first meeting but he was working against charles brown the fourth-year player and that sack drove the saints right out of field goal range and now the punt goes into the end zone [Applause] a big play made by greg hardy who calls himself the kraken he makes the play and that takes the saints out of field goal range still no score [Music] drew brees was under pressure all last week was sacked four times at st louis we're not even out of the first quarter and brees has been hit a lot sacked twice and after that punt by morse dead that went into the end zone just a 19-yard gain on the punt so newton the third possession starts at the 20. a toss another toss and it's kim ted ginn forced out of bounds they're going to mark with the 27. well what's interesting so far here joe i know a point of emphasis for both these teams was being able to score touchdowns when they got down in the red zone and you know we've seen now carolina they got down in the red zone and they turned the ball over don't get any points new orleans they're able to move the ball in their last possession didn't get into the red zone but were within field goal range and they end up having to punt so neither offense able to take advantage of the scoring opportunities that they've had second down and three deangelo williams right side and he picks up a yard so third and short coming up for the carolina panthers hicks made that last tackle and a time-out is taken by new orleans [Music] so new orleans takes a out defensively and this could be well there's an injury it looks like down on the field it also could be wind related as vacaro is down on the field by taking a timeout if he could continue he would be able to go back out on the field after the timeout we were talking during the break that while a lot of the prognosticators were saying this was going to be a high scoring game with carolina and the saints you didn't think so and it certainly doesn't look like it's going to be no i mean at least right now it does and i i think this is going to kind of continue i i really believe that it's going to be more of a defensive struggle certainly new orleans is capable of putting up a lot of points but against this carolina defense they're second in the nfl coming into the game just giving up 14 points a game and they're even better than that here at home it's it's tough to move the ball and come away with touchdowns against this defense so while they check on vacaro and while there is a time out on the field and again it was taken by the new orleans saints they're now giving the timeout back because of the injury so new orleans has all three of their timeouts that could have been wind related as to why they took the time out that does not look good for the talented rookie take a break and come back before third and two [Music] well they had to cart kenny vaccaro off the field as they put that air caster that stabilizer around the lower left leg you can see that leg was pinned under that pile of bodies now third down and two [Applause] newton under pressure and down he goes sacked by lofton and curtis lofton has his second of the year and that will bring up fourth down and a loss of 12 on the sack yeah curtis lofton didn't look like initially he's coming on the blitz that he was playing the run fake and then he sees it open up and here he comes he's got a direct shot at cam newton and newton was sacked five times in the game two weeks ago and a big stop by this saints defense on third down sean payton is playing the win that's why he called the earlier timeout it was given back to the saints when vicaro couldn't get up he calls a timeout here he wants this punt off the right foot of brad norton to head into the wind and try and play the field position with darren sproles waiting deep 23 seconds left in the opening quarter that's a great job of managing the game by sean payton just trying to pick up as many extra yards out of this punt into the wind as possible we have the wind we expect rain just don't know when it's going to hit good punt sproles from inside the 35 swallowed up and a plane made downfield by colin jones andrew brees will go back to work and troy he has been under pressure since the beginning well he's been hit he's been knocked to the ground you see the blitz there off the edge by captain munderlin that's the first sack and then greg hardy comes in and gets the second and [Applause] they have got to be able to disrupt the timing not only of drew brees within the pocket but as we talked about they've got to change the timing with the wide receivers and throw them off for us and they've been doing a pretty good job of both so far extra tackle in the game bryce harris so three tackles out there for the saints a handoff is to ingram and ingram crosses the 40 and that's the end of the first quarter here in carolina an 8-yard carry after a 51-yard punt back after this from your local fox station brees came in talking about the need to get off to a fast start in this game on the road it's their third straight game they've been shut out in the first quarter here's ingram he's got a first down [Applause] [Music] and there's a penalty flag down on the field nothing to pick it up so it's a first down let's go down to pamela joe the carolina panthers may or may not have their veteran wide receiver steve smith remains in the locker room the focus is on smith's left knee he is questionable meantime his teammate colin cole is also out of action the panthers starting left defensive tackle has a calf injury he's doubtful all right thanks hardy trying to get a jump was he drawn off offense number 72 five yard penalty still first down there's a rookie terron armstead guilty of a false start after the first down carry by ingram of course we talked about armstead making the start also as pam reported coming into the game sean payton releasing kicker garrett hartley [Applause] taking over is shane graham and james had a rough pregame warm-up something to keep in mind as we go through it as thomas runs into keithley and they love him here in charlotte they chant his first name luke lee no gain as he sniffed out that screen yeah he sure did and the saints had an opportunity to get a block on him but you know as we saw with thomas davis earlier they're so fast they recognize it so quickly it these screens are hard to run against this carolina defense heavy pass so far second and 15. [Applause] a juggle on the catch and colston down inside the 25. no joe they had darren sproles in the backfield normally when he's in the backfield he's either going to run the ball or he's going to run a pass route they do not ask him to block very often but he picks up mudderlin coming off the edge once again gives drew brees time in the pocket marcus colston against zone coverage finds the opening and breeze with time delivers the ball perfectly that's a season long for colston 35 yards for number 12. now captain munderlin is slow to come off the field and he looks a little woozy coming off as he was coming yet again as you said troy on a blitz and he is going to be looked at thoroughly on the sideline you know they've brought that now a few times as we've seen they haven't fooled the saints i mean they've had a protector each time they brought secondary off the edge the one time pierre thomas couldn't get there to the block and that's why munderland had the sack but saints have done a good job of seeing it on first down it's ingram and ingram who has one big game this season picks up two that was a 145-yard game on that sunday night against the dallas cowboys he missed five games with a right toe injury he checks out thomas sproles and colston come back in on second and eight [Applause] again and again it's hardy [Applause] well you know greg hardy was challenged this week when they start a rookie against you one of the premier pass rushers in football armstead over sets expecting the speed rush to the outside hardy gives him the move comes underneath the block does an outstanding job right now sean payton has got to be looking at this saying i've got to give a young left tackle a little more help now third down and 17. we had the back to his side joe and if armstead had set to the inside force hardy to stay wide he probably does get a little help with the chip protected colston short of a first down but it makes it a bit easier for the aforementioned shane graham a catch of nine yards for colston keegley on the stop and here is graham who has been with new orleans before buffalo carolina made his name with the bengals the giants the patriots the dolphins the ravens the texans and the steelers and here he is taking over for the released garrett hartley in week 16. from 40. he's got it and a good start for shane graham last year was kicking in the playoffs for the texans first points of the day they belong to the saints today's game is sponsored by ford only ford gives you ecoboost fuel economy and a whole lot more aerial coverage provided by nationwide insurance the kick will be coming from more stead tedkin jr is waiting for it he'll have the fourth possession after shane graham made his first attempt here's an onside kick try and it is recovered by it looked like new orleans but a fight for the ball after the pileup and it is the saints ramon humber came away with a football and anytime the saints do that you go back to the super bowl and sean payton's call to start the second half and here it is off the foot of morristead there was humber well it was a perfect kick by thomas morestad and jason williams looked like he you know saw it immediately he comes up he's trying to make a play on it but you see humber he's able to get up the field turn and protect himself as well as the ball and tell you what you can't you can't rest if you're going to get sean payton craig mcmahon the special teams coach is fired up big part of super bowl 44 was an onside kick here stills and stills knocked to the ground by melvin white a gain of three so they get the points and then they catch carolina with an onside kick you're gonna see it again and and right here jason williams i mean he's not full i mean you know that they talked about this during the week as well so carolina does their job in anticipating the onside kick it's just the saints executed beautifully with a with an outstanding kick there by thomas morstead now second down and seven breeze has colston he's been busy and colston has got a first down you know and what it does joe it really gives your team a great deal of confidence i know when i was playing jimmy johnson at times would do those types of things he'd let you know all week long hey here's what we're going to do in this situation because the way that it gives you confidence is one he believes the special teams is going to execute it morristead's going to make the right kick but if it fails to work you're saying to your defense hey i trust that you're going to at least hold this team to a field goal so what a call by sean payton on first down it's thomas actually ingram bouncing it to the edge and ingram with a big carry he's going to be tripped up down inside the 10. ball came out but it was when it ingram hit the ground no fumble and it'll be first and goal 34-yard carry for mark ingram that ties his season long it's like they bring in the big guy bryce harris here at right tackle get him a bigger body to block and mark ingram sets it up nicely he wants to go inside nothing there he bounces it to the outside that's a great job of finishing off the run not going out of bounds forcing mike mitchell to try and make a play which he fails to do they marked him down at the eight so 34 yards for ingram and now gets to hear about ball security on the sideline from sean payton that's exactly what sean payton was talking to him about first and goal handoff is to thomas thomas fights down inside the five sean payton talked about the beginning of the week was harsh he cuts the kicker he moves charles brown to the bench and installs tehran armstead and he said after that shock the guys handled it on wednesday and as the week went on he started to try and lighten the mood to get them ready to have their swagger for this game well he proved with those moves joe that he has no fear if anybody questioned that after the onside kick in the playoffs in the super bowl well you got to see it again to get the ball here on this drive second and goal breeze keeps it and is brought down from behind play made by quentin michael and a loss of three held onto the ball for a long time and the sack for michael a lot of secondary blitzes as we've seen this time the saints they don't pick it up as well brees had some time quentin michael keeps it alive and comes in makes a play brees has already been sacked four times third down and goal brees incomplete for jimmy graham coverage by keithley and graham got up looking for a flag won't get it kinkley was waiting on him to come across he picks him up immediately there was definitely contact that was made jimmy graham was looking for the flag but what a great defensive possession there by the carolina panthers allowing new orleans to drive down the field get inside the 10-yard line and force them to try to come away with a field goal graham had six catches in the first meeting two weeks ago he does not have one yet here comes a 24 yard try by shane graham he's two for two and it's a six to nothing game onside kick saints recover pick up three more it started with recovering an onside kick before today this season onside kicks were successful 17 and a half percent of the time for non fourth quarter onside kicks which are the surprise version it's now five for eight so it's a better than 50 50 proposition as sean payton now has more stead kicking deep chance for genn out of the end zone hop gets to the 15. gets to the 20 and not much more will herring down field makes the stop panthers will have it down by six a win and they're in the playoffs back after this this game is sponsored by taco bell sometimes you gotta live moss good news for the panthers team smith is back out there hey lucy after leaving last time they had it hawthorne can't bring him down but he slowed him down and no gain on the play bad news for new orleans let's go down to pam oliver well joe the saints are worried about their starting rookie safety it is feared that kenny vaccaro has a broken left ankle we are awaiting the x-rays on that the saints vaguely report it's a lower leg injury we can be more definitive when we get results of those x-rays back to you all right pam thank you meanwhile steve smith after that first play from scrimmage just limped off so he doesn't look right at [Applause] is caught by hixson and the former giant picks up five and smith will exit again he made one play from scrimmage and then he headed off the field yeah he was probably over there and felt that he could give it a go and see how long it would hold up and one play into it not good i wouldn't expect him to be back joe third down and five right [Applause] now it's on hixson again and lafell on the outside on third down newton has is off the hands of brandon lafell [Applause] coverage by wade and it's fourth down a quick three and out for the panthers on offense well that looked like a perfectly thrown ball too as he goes to the corner route and you see what cam newton had to deal with as far as laying it over the top i'm not sure he would have gotten his feet down even if he was able to make the catch but good job defensively by the saints forcing a three and out third in a row forced by the saints and now on fourth down nortman to punt [Applause] makes a few miss and able to cross the 25. saints have it they're going to mark him at the 26. up six saints will have the football and the question troy's got to be are they going to be able to protect drew brees that was a question coming in remember this was a team that elected to not resign jeremiah bushrod pro bowl player he went to the bears they started the year with charles brown he'd made every start until today sean payton went to the rookie teuron armstead and with a focus on him he's been beaten a couple times keep an eye on it because charles brown did a good job last time these two teams met toss to thomas and keithley made the play [Music] that's already eight tackles for luke kinkley luke lee i mean ron rivera talked about it this guy just does not take any false steps he's got good anticipation and recognition of formations and he immediately because of his speed is able to cut him off trying to get to the edge this is a terrific football player ron rivera compared him to mike singletary who was his teammate in chicago saying he's one of the best first step linebackers he's ever seen here's a dangerous throw for colston broken up thomas davis was in there with melvin white and they had bracket coverage on marcus colston it's third and 10. well melvin why you see get hands on him and that's what they've been trying to do throughout this game the saints have been good overall joe on third down but when they have faced third and long they've not been able to convert so carolina doing a good job forcing a third and 10. [Applause] ball start again and it could be armstead it is false start offense number 72 five yard penalty still third down so that's two on him as he is staring into the eyes of greg hardy they see him there on the end and [Applause] that time it was addison and hardy over on that side now third and 15. well there's a look at charles brown he's got his got his helmet on he's ready to go if called upon on third down brees is going to take off and slide short of a first down and so a nice bit of work by this carolina defense as you said so good at home allowing less than 12 points per game here at bank of america stadium a gain of nine and a punt coming from horstead yeah they've been good joe without really any help from their offense and this next possession for carolina you know they need to do something offensively and give this defense even though they've played well they need they need a break [Applause] good punt back in down to ten ted again out across the 20. this is your game this is your show join the guys on fox football daily every weeknight for the best insight analysis and interviews in football catch fox football daily weeknights at 6 eastern only on america's new sports network fox sports 1. but back on offense for carolina they've had three straight three and outs now they're playing without steve smith and you have to go back to september of last year the last time the panthers have been shut out in the first half here at home they haven't been able to move the ball except for a big pass a 44-yarder to steve smith early that's it as far as big plays newton throws he's got his tied in and that's greg olson who was good in chicago he's been great here in carolina here's kurt with a game break well let a play this is why people fall in love with tony romo the dallas quarterback gets away from the safety spin move and then finds dez bryant in the endzone 14-yard score dallas needing to win leading 14-6 right now at the skids joe troy pam yeah they need to win today and then they have a match-up for it all week 17 at home against philly i'll play for the division if the cowboys win against the redskins here's olson off his hands good throw couldn't haul it in second and 10. greg olson gets a good release off the line of scrimmage and they were able to move the safety a little bit to give olsen a little bit more room curtis lofton in coverage just off the fingertips of greg olsen who joe has really found himself a home here in carolina you know drafted in the first round by chicago had 60 catches one year for them but just never really seemed to happen for him but boy him and cam newton they have they have quite a thing going here for the panthers [Applause] just got it away on second down newton hangs in now trying to run and it's well played lewis forced him out third down coming up it looked like with the time that newton had in the pocket he was looking to get to greg olsen he's pretty far down the field before he even turns around and with time none of the receivers were really able to uncover themselves and give him any place to go with the football you saw hixon 87. he's made one catch today he came in with three catches total on the year dave gettleman first year gm here in carolina was in the front office with the giants when hixon was there they're gonna need more out of him steve smith is out for the rest of the day third down at eight newton in trouble and can't get away ball is out he's able to get back on top but it's going to be a sack for this saints defense cameron jordan got through joe the saints showed as soon as the panthers broke the huddle that they were going to bring pressure it was all-out blitz one-on-one and the ball's got to come out i mean you're going to see what you have somebody's got to get open the ball's got to come out but there's the pressure in cam newton's face so the saints defensively once again they get the ball right back to their offense about 12 and a half sacks for cameron jordan and that a loss of 17. the saints should end up with good field position again good punt [Applause] scrolls from inside the 25. got hit hard when he crossed the 30. we've talked a lot about luke keikley second year linebacker here's luke talking about his role i think you know focusing on the team's probably been the easiest part of the whole year you know we don't do a whole lot of reading to the press or looking at the newspapers anything like that on our defense the middle linebacker makes most of the calls when we get the calling from the sideline i gotta you know set the front in the blitz but you know we have a lot of guys on our defense that are you know veteran guys intelligent guys that kind of help everybody get lined up well spoken middle linebacker second year out of boston college and uh he just got all pro written all over yeah he's got it and boston college they they've developed a few good players that have gone on have great careers in the nfl and how would you like to be the panthers and ron rivera knowing you've got that guy to build this defense around for the next however many years raised with a punk fake and now the throw is incomplete too low for darren scrolls a defensive struggle and to this point the first half has been won by the new orleans defense holding carolina to just 55 yards of offense yeah this was a this was an offense carolina that struggled two weeks ago against the saints throwing the football they only had 160 yards passing and it's been a bit of a fight in this one you mentioned the long one to steve smith on the opening possession haven't really been able to get much going other than that has is caught that's graham that's his first catch but a short game of just four yards keegley is there again and he's up to nine tackles already in this half and that could take us and will take us to the two-minute warning we'll take a break come back third down and six for that man's team the saints who are up by six points here in charlotte [Music] well a third down for the new orleans saints and an opportunity here at home with a lot of crowd noise for cam newton's defense to make a play brees passes thomas davis his second interception of the year joe thomas armstead got down in a three-point stance looked like he was going to rush instead he drops underneath drew brees never sees him brent armstead thinks he's got him in protection and thomas davis is able to sink underneath that short crossing route and make a heck of a play on the ball it's one thing to be there it's another thing to be able to make the play [Applause] this carolina team [Applause] plus 11 in the turnover ratio tied for the second best in the nfl and davis has got eight tackles and an interception and for drew brees he just threw his eighth interception on the road this year compared to only three at home here's williams d'angelo is gone touchdown [Applause] how about that turn of events davis with the interception then a 43-yard touchdown run by d'angelo williams that's his longest run of the year [Applause] and the panthers are up by one well travell warden does an outstanding job the block here and then wharton leads away and he's the one who is able to get the key block that springs d'angelo williams it's an outstanding job of run blocking up front by this offensive line they've been doing it pretty much all season long and once d'angelo williams gets into the middle of the field there's nobody there his eyes go straight to the jumbotron in the end zone and you could see he was pulling away from the defense as he made that 43-yard run it hasn't been a pretty first half for the carolina panthers trying to stamp their ticket to the postseason for the first time since 0-8 but they lead by one and it started with the interception well this is just a great play by thomas davis being able to make the catch on that throw heck of an athlete right there and then offensively you know to answer that they've had two plays in this game they had the deep ball to steve smith and then that run by deangelo williams but we talked about it coming into the game joe the turnovers on the road by the new orleans saints have really been their undoing the carolina panthers capitalized on that last interception by brees steve smith had that season-long 44-yard catch and prior to that run by deangelo williams the other 18 plays on offense for carolina had produced just 11 yards and then williams went to work on the first play after the interception by thomas davis what is coming up on the visa halftime let's take you to l.a [Music] [Music] they're wearing out those singers back in l.a little did they know what they signed up for bill richards gets a hold of you and he'll keep putting you on yeah they're going to get their money's worth all right starting at the 20 down by one two timeouts brees stills not much short gain of four yards melvin white was there clock wines you wonder how much sean payton believes brees can be protected to let something downfield develop it's been a lot of quick throws so far for brees here's another one to sproles and he's wrapped up by keithley third and short coming up ten tackles for luke geekly this guy's everywhere and that is not easy there's just not many linebackers that can take darren sproles out of the backfield like that man to man and keegley's able to make a play now the saints need to get a first down and carolina will take a timeout on defense incomplete but a flag is thrown lance moore the intended target coverage by drayton florence let's take a look and see what happens lance moore on the go route there's a grab on the face mask and boy they weren't going to be able to make a play on that ball lance moore wasn't going to be able to but drayton florence grabs a face mask that's a good job by that official seeing it defense number 29 spot huge penalty on florence and like you said troy there was no chance for lance moore to make a play on that ball yeah i don't know if you know ron rivera is on the other sideline you know the opposite side of the field he can't really see it but that was the right call there no chance lance moore was going to be able to come out of that and make that cap i think what rivera would argue is they called pass interference they could have called a face mask and then the entire feel of the call changes but when they say pass interference rivera is saying that ball wasn't catchable and now on first down from their own 44 it's breeze and down he goes another sack that's five mario addison with hardy in late 100 [Applause] it's a coverage sack here joe you know there's time in the pocket for drew brees and he's trying to get the ball down the field had a chance maybe to come underneath there to to jimmy graham but with time in the pocket ball doesn't come out and eventually it collapses around him timeout taken by carolina they have two left there's only 40 seconds remaining in this half and drew brees now has been brought to the ground five times by this carolina defense they had only two in the first meeting two weeks ago in new orleans well hey we we visited with sean payton and he was very confident in their ability to throw the football against his secondary if given time but even with time like on that last play they've held up well second down and 19. freeze for graham pass is caught when he's out of bounds at the 42. so the clock stops with 41 seconds left mudderlin and keekley were there for the force out and now after a gain of seven it's third and twelve i just i couldn't be more impressed with what i've seen here through the first half of this game by carolina defensively [Applause] reeves slips out of trouble down the middle of the field for stills overthrow and it's fourth down with a clock stop 34 seconds left in the half and carolina has two timeouts i think this is one of those throws that drew brees would like to have back kenny stills he has him beat mike mitchell in coverage if he's able to make a better throw lead steals away from the defender he had a chance to go get it remember it is windy down on that field don't know if the wind affected that throw by breeze or not doesn't typically miss on a throw like that as more stead hits it it checks up inside the tent and a good punch tap down near the eighth [Music] let us give you a look at the playoff picture in the nfc it's still wide open the only team that's clinched a spot in the play off seattle they are one win away from securing home field throughout but there's the battle new orleans 10-4 carolina 10-4 and don't forget about arizona they're lurking back there in the in the hunt category and they're not going away but they have their hands full arizona is going to play out west at seattle then at home against san francisco that's the end of the half arizona has won six of their last seven games they're in seattle today we're going to take a break come back and we will be on the other side of the break then eventually the visa halftime low scoring good defense seven six panthers back after this [Music] only touchdown of the day belongs to d'angelo williams 43-yard carry after a thomas davis interception of drew brees you can follow your favorite team all season long just go to itunes.com nfl the saints will open this second half with the football as drew brees never really got into a rhythm in that first half he was under duress he was sacked five times being protected by a rookie out at left tackle we'll see how much longer that experiment lasts maybe the rest of the game maybe the rest of the season or who knows depending on how they come out of the shoot here in the second half [Music] you know [Applause] with another touch back down to the field here's pam oliver joe the panthers and saints obviously in a defensive battle but ron rivera is mostly concerned about what could happen on the offensive side of the ball he laments some chances that got a way to score but he said whoever can limit those mistakes wins as for the saints sean payton in those five sacks on drew brees he says we're seeing more pressure on first and second down than we're used to he figures if they could get a rhythm going they can straighten some of those things out back to you all right well sean payton has gone to that extra tackle back in there bryce so three harris along the offensive line and there's been really nothing down field from brees quick throw meet him and meacham picks up nine so you see that graphic there joe all but two of drew brees's first half passes were for 10 yards or less so yeah you know you see that kind of pressure the saints typically they're going to make you pay for it but the saints have been unable to do so against this carolina defense offensively for carolina it's just hard to imagine i mean other than those two plays the touchdown run by d'angelo williams a deep ball to steve smith they did nothing offensively i just don't feel they can win the game if they don't do more in this half on that side of the ball office to ingram and ingram gets smoked but he's got a first down it was quinton michael who leveled him but a gain of seven and ingram pops right back up and shaking his head first down new orleans you talked about mark ingram a little bit earlier joe and the big day that he had against the cowboys and really hasn't done a whole lot since that time and he's gotten more opportunities you know here in this ball game he had the big carry 34 yarder which tied his season long in the first half now it scrolls in the backfield on first down paz is caught nice catch by stills throw was high but kenny stills went up to get it 19 yards from drew brees that's a great job by kenny stills in the seam look at a ball that you know maybe a little slick got away from brees just a little bit but still is able to extend himself and make the catch and and then more importantly protect himself he's had himself a nice rookie year out of oklahoma fifth round draft pick and he has done a lot for this team this season averaging just under 19 yards per catch that one was for 19. [Applause] and no flag good coverage by josh thomas and jimmy graham has been relatively quiet so far today just two catches 11 yards josh thomas he comes out and jimmy graham's looking for a flag it looked like thomas may have had his left arm around the waist of jimmy graham as he tried to come back and make a play on that ball [Applause] second and ten omaha [Applause] two guys over there accounting for him thinking he was going to go deep and this is what lance moore does so well he sells the route as though he's going to keep going on the run vertically he snaps it off and gives drew brees someplace to go with the football captain munderland trying to get underneath it that's good execution by both brees and more 13-yard completion brees has found nine different receivers [Applause] he's got a first down at the carolina thirty-two and off to ingram and ingram is going to push the pile down to the 26. and i know without and now flag comes in late we'll sort that out i know you've always been a fan of mark ingram but he's never really gotten the full shot at being the guy they've done it by committee at the running back spot we'll get the call from steritor after the play person's personal foul unnecessary roughness off offense number 64. 15-yard penalty second down they get zach streith who doesn't agree take a look here and see what happens [Applause] there's nothing there nothing nothing no quentin michael he really took a ball there and zach strief didn't do any that's a costly penalty on the new orleans saints who have had a hard time capitalizing when they've gotten down to that part of the field and now they get backed up and they're looking at second and long bad call moves the ball back to the 41. [Applause] is going to be wrapped up this ball is incomplete it was greg hardy again and he had both arms around drew brees they're going to call it an incomplete pass instead of a sack and this was close yeah i thought they were going to blow the whistle and call it a sack and brees is just barely able to get the ball out of his hands and hardy once again on armstead without anybody giving him any help now third down in 19. [Applause] hit inside the 35 by keegley a gain of seven it's fourth down for new orleans they're just not giving these free releases this time captain munderland he's able to slow up marcus colston off the line of scrimmage this defense they're aided by the penalty on zack street which shouldn't have been called but the saints well they had a nice drive going prior to that penalty is roughly a 52-yard try by graham and they do spot it at the 42 so 52 yards from shane graham and now they're going to change the play it's luke mccown who's the holder now in a quarterback [Applause] the cow for graham not there a flag is down [Applause] right at the line of scrimmage they're going to get justin drescher for a hold that play offense number 47. that penalty is declined first down carolina timeout well they were good on the onside kick the big field goal and that throw not so good carolina takes over up one game is sponsored by southwest airlines find our fares online only at southwest.com and by ram trucks guts glory ram a look inside the nascar hall of fame here in charlotte and nascar such a big part of fox in such a big part of the fox sports family of steve burns who is watching in south carolina enjoying the football game and we're thinking of steve on this day as we play here in carolina as brandon lafell makes the catch shove jenkins away and picks up the first down got 13 yards that was one of those plays that cam newton was talking to us about with regards to brandon lafell and the types of things he's done for this team this season a lot that goes really unnoticed or doesn't necessarily show up on the stat sheet yeah he gets the reception but he's able to break a tackle and then pick up that first down you know we've given a lot of attention to this carolina defense overall this saints defense has been pretty good too on first down it's williams deangelo tripped up knocked down at midfield he gave him three of course the difference being that that they've given up you know the one touchdown and a lot of pressure on both of these defensive coordinators because the offenses haven't been able to do more than they've than they've done they got to be real careful on the chances that they take not to give up big plays with the rain and weather moving into the charlotte area second down newton fires and cameras left alone ted ginn is down knocked out of bounds at the 21. [Applause] and this saints defense lost track of ted ginn jr that is the blown coverage safety moves here to the middle field there's got to be somebody back here or you're in man coverage and they just let ted ginn get in behind him and they give up a big play 29 yards stepped out of bounds at the 21. [Applause] no no no [Applause] here's william and a play is made by junior gillette see the dark clouds starting to roll in we had a bit of rain during halftime and the radar doesn't look too good [Applause] but for the most part aside from some wind we've been able to avoid the raindrops [Applause] starts to rain just a bit second and 11. newton keeps it and then got hit hard by corey white after a gain of five watching cam newton coming into this game and the way that they run that read option he he really rides it you know a lot like what these wishbone quarterbacks did at the university of oklahoma years ago in the 70s but he rides it you know so long and really makes that defender then commit junior gillette gets up the field and it opened up a nice lane then for cam newton now the rain picks up on third and six [Applause] is sacked brought down by galette he had three in the first meeting and now he gets one here a loss of five to bring up fourth down i thought new orleans in the secondary really did a nice job of playing that route combination and being able to pick it up on the outside you see the job there he passes it off and is able to come underneath and not give cam newton anywhere to go with the ball that was treven wade who played it so well 40-yard drive by ganno [Applause] it's 10-6 gram gano as they look at cam newton on the bench panthers up by four well this game is about to change as cam newton gets looked at on the bench it is like a monsoon just rolled through here wind rain with 7 21 left in the third quarter gano is going to try and kick it it looks like into the wind as the rain is blowing from our right to left and so he knuckles it sproles waits for it picks it up and his duck knocked down near the 25 maybe just shy of it 22-yard return and we will continue in the pouring rain saints have it down four [Music] sheets of rain and wind it is howling down there on the field and i don't know how anybody goes about trying to throw a football in these conditions no that's why drew brees went to the gloves they make gloves a lot better than they used to but it has become a little bit easier for quarterbacks to throw the ball in these conditions because of the improvements they've made with the gloves they wear crowds hanging in there having fun here's pierre thomas left side guess who both of them the two linebackers davis and keithley over there to make the tackle as all three slid out of bounds now those guys have been everywhere both geekly and davis throughout this ball game and you know right now ball security of the utmost importance making sure you secure the snap from the center first and foremost but each time these guys have the ball they've got to make sure they do a good job of control second and nine handoff is to ingram and ingram looks like the more effective back in this game as he gets seven let's go to curt with the game break well the cowboys led 14-6 at washington at halftime but they've come out turned the ball over on both possessions in the second half redskins have scored touchdowns each time and now washington leads it 20-14 wow joe troy pam here we go again yeah here we go again it was a fumble by tyler klutz the fullback in his third week in dallas that started that her cousins and the redskins offense doing the rest now third and two [Applause] it's collins the fullback and he is so good at short yardage picks it up yeah especially on a field like this you get the ball to jett collins let him pick up the first down now you know joe looking at this game right now with the change in weather conditions i would say that that's in favor of the carolina panthers because of their ability to run the football they run the ball the third most in all of football but in talking with sean payton he really believes that it's to their advantage because it would help slow this pass rush if that's true that would help because they've been able to get after brees here's ingram he's bottled up there's a family before the weather rolled in just enjoying themselves waving nice day at the old ball yard and then this all bundled up it is absolutely pouring and there are different areas coming out of this upper deck here in the stadium that's just dumping it's like a waterfall coming into the lower deck well this rain it certainly ignited this crowd second and ten brees pass is incomplete for colston skipped in how's pam oliver doing today hey joe i don't see what the big problem is here it's fun you worry about your false eyelashes coming up they're playing football what's the deal it's fantastic somebody get her an umbrella this is what you're supposed to say this is football weather third down and 10. and now they stop play [Applause] they're gonna look at the last play sean payton is challenging this to see if colston made the catch they ruled incomplete [Applause] a challenge from sean payton nonetheless so we'll take a break we'll get the call from gene steratore when we come back peyton with a challenge here in quarter number three [Music] so the saints challenge what was ruled an incomplete pass you'll see it go off the hands then a bit off the ground and into the gut of colston here's the review the ruling on the field is confirmed it was an incomplete pass falling through the receiver's hand hit the ground it's incomplete new orleans ball third down the orders will also be charged with their first time out of the half so they're down one challenge they're out of one timeout there'll be no bonus challenge they have only one left and now it's third down and ten yeah i didn't uh i didn't disagree though with the challenge joe i thought it was close enough i think it was worth a shot i i didn't necessarily see that it hit the ground i didn't think there was enough there for them to overturn the call but i can understand why sean payton wanted them to take another look at it out of the shotgun it's brees and little shoulder fake and he's picked by kingly and now both of these great linebackers have an interception today well luke lee he's in the middle of the field and drew brees is anticipating that he's not going to react the way that he did to jimmy graham taking the middle of the field that jimmy graham can create some separation but luke keithley what can you say about the day that he's had he's been all over the field making tackles and now he comes up with a big interception about 16 tackles an interception thomas davis nine tackles an interception and again a guy who the panthers thought was finished in davis with three acl operations and keekley the second year player just gets better by the week and he is the heart and soul of his defense it's williams hawthorne made the hit a gain of two yeah halfway expected carolina to come off of that change of possession and run a play-action fake remember the last interception they handed the ball to d'angelo williams he raced in for the touchdown but with the weather the way that it is i'm sure ron rivera's wanted to just play it a little closer to the vest but change of possession like that a lot of times you'll see these coordinators try to dial something up down the field second and eight [Applause] third down coming up a gain of three never be without football get coverage of every nfl game on nfl mobile paul star star nfl two downloaded now third down and five out of field goal range and what exactly is field goal range on a windy rainy day like this but well outside of it and a third down with under three and a half to go third quarter you start thinking if they're able to get anything on this dr or on this play short of the first down if they're not in four down territory newt looked like a designed run all the way and he gets nothing may have lost a yard as cam newton took it and the punt team will come out and try and pin drew brees back close to the new orleans end zone remember last time newton left the field he went over and got looked at on the bench and now he's kimberly coming off again well we saw that earlier i'm a little surprised by that call i don't think he was right even before that play but cam newton who as we know he can certainly run he's one of the best in the league at doing so but he has taken a lot of hits this year when he has kept it good snap ball and over end and it scrolls letting it go over his head and it checks up inside the five down by josh thomas and they're gonna mark it at the two great work by brad norton second year punter out of wisconsin saints have it down four [Music] how about this guy right below the booth mission accomplished he's on tv the bad news is for the saints the punt was so good they marked it at the two the good news is for the saints the reign has led up a bit but they are backed up down by four it's collins the fullback a little breathing room with a pickup of two looks like that exchange from drew brees to jed collins here yeah he got stepped on drew brees that's half that happens sometimes down there in those close quarters offensive lineman take a false step back and as you're trying to come out as a quarterback and it didn't look good when it happened in real time saints need to just pick up a first down here give their punter some room to work on second and eight fake the toss brees floats it out for collins and collins with a catch and run up to the a gain of six davis on the tackle the last five times have had it two interceptions two punts and a turnover on downs when they try to fake field goal third down and two well they've been good on on on third down when it's been third and short they've converted these they've had more problems when it's been third and eight or more brees thomas good play thomas davis and pierre thomas lost yardage on third and two keatley and davis have been brilliant oh he's right here in the middle joe and you know there's a tendency when you've got fast pursuing linebackers like carolina has that you can do some things and try to misdirect them a little bit and outflank them but the saints have tried throughout this game and key clea and davis have been there each and every time they have been outstanding running sideline to sideline penalty flag flies as morested just got it away again is going to stay away from the football it's tapped at the 42 but a flag is down you know i think when the head coach comes from the defensive side of the ball like ron rivera does legal formation on the defense number 38 was covering the center on the punt it's a five-yard penalty first down new orleans how about that that's an automatic first down because it was fourth down in less than five and because the center was covered up it goes down as an illegal formation on the defense and the five yard penalty gives the saints enough for a big first down well that is a huge penalty joe they've changed that rule you can't line up over the center they're trying to protect those guys you can see the long snapper that's justin drescher [Applause] with a player just over his right shoulder pad yeah there was five yard penalties a first down yeah i'm interested nobody was right over the top of him here's ingram and ingram's gonna pick up eight thomas davis on the stop we are through three quarters and we may check in with mike pereira at least off the air during the break back after this as we go to the fourth from your local fox station from mike a big first down by penalty as they said the center was covered up yeah huge call joe and the rule is you have to be in a punt formation lined up outside the shoulder of the center that's really close i think too close to call the umpire and you can see he's in the offensive backfield where he's supposed to be he doesn't get the great look at that like he would be on a field goal or a try but to me although technically that might be right you know i think that's too close of a call to make they called it against robert lester a rookie a free agent out of alabama and as mike said completely outside the shoulder pad and i mean he was right on the edge of that and a huge call going against the panthers for a first down for the saints meanwhile mark ingram was down during the break and he leaves the playing field he's going to get looked at ingram's had a pretty good day when he's had a chance to run it yeah he has so they're going to miss him but i i agree with mike there joe that you know in a situation like this a game like this yeah technically the right call the rule is in to protect the center and keeping guys from just canning the center as they have in the past and you know no one took a shot there at the center i just think it's a questionable call but a you know huge play as far as the panthers at least not getting great field position and having the ball right now at the very worst the new orleans saints at least by a little bit of field position seven yard carry by ingram he's out kyrie robinson is in a rookie and a reverse doesn't work handoff to meacham and he's brought down in the backfield [Applause] play was made by charles johnson we missed two games earlier this season with a knee sprain and he wasn't fooled at all no he wasn't he rushes up the field and he's right there then to make a play that's it's just a great job of knowing your assignment you've got to be able to contain he plays it straight makes the play the saints just have not been able to do anything with misdirection or outflank this defense have third down to names just got it away michael coming on a bliss play made pass to thomas and it's kinkley again what a game it's like playing with 12 guys so luke lee is all over the place this is amazing how he just has a knack for knowing where the ball is going and then being there to make a play you see sean payton he's saying degrees hey that's on me and hey sean mcdermott the defensive coordinator for carolina has been one step ahead of one of the great play callers of football yeah that's where i was going with a point about rivera the head coach former linebacker here's again outside the 35. you think about rivera in the defense don't forget about sean mcdermott and the job he's done as defensive coordinator you think he doesn't love keakley 10-6 panthers today's game is sponsored by universal pictures new film lone survivor in theaters january 10th well cam newton's been getting a lot of attention on the sidelines oliver told us they've had to re-wrap his ankle [Applause] and he takes over the ball at his own 36 up by four handoff to williams covering up the football out to the 40. what's at stake we came on the air talking about it and it's worth revisiting for the saints with a win today they clinch the south and a first round bye which is big for the panthers they clinch a playoff berth with a win they would have to wait a week to clinch the division but it would be their first playoff berth since 2008 second and sixth [Applause] newton off the hands of the tight end olson third and six joe you talk about what this game means to the new orleans saints as well as the carolina panthers it means so much to sean payton as far as seating goes that he knows there's a number of guys on this team that don't really fully understand what it means to be the number two seed or the four seed or whatever that he went through a powerpoint presentation and showed these guys this week historically what it means to be the number two seed and how that increases your chances of moving forward this is a huge game for both of these teams on what's going to happen moving into january now third down and six for newton pass is too high and it doesn't look like newton right now troy can move around much at all well he can't move and the the rain and the wet conditions have created some issues with him throwing the football i can relate he is not wearing gloves i could not throw a wet football i wouldn't have any success in conditions like this pam was telling us that you know he has said the ball slipping coming out a little bit and both those throws were high doesn't look like he can get his legs underneath him either as he's been limping to the sideline the last couple of times they had it now fourth and sixth nortman to punt it with the dangerous derrick scrolls waiting rain has basically stopped scrolls lets it go over his head and norman's done it again tapped down by colin jones and they're gonna mark it at the three drew brees backed up down four [Music] well the rain has stopped it was pounding down earlier cam newton going over plays had to change out his wristbands on the sideline but right now the focus is on the defense of carolina and the offense of drew brees who has been really shut down today the quarterback of the saints starting at the three with robinson in the backfield kyrie robinson takes it out across the five a gain of three the defense obviously has been outstanding for carolina how about the special teams you mentioned it going to break joe the job of punter brad norman twice now pinning these guys back making them have to go the length of the field this this carolina defense has been something they won a game earlier in the year against the san francisco 49ers only scoring 10 points this defense hadn't got a lot of help from their offense but they have been outstanding norton's actually drafted out of wisconsin sixth rounder last year he's been good second and seven three steps up pass is caught and a big one it's jimmy graham trying to outrace thomas davis and graham is into carolina territory that pass was contested at the catch and once graham got it off he went you're gonna see the pocket and how drew brees navigates it to buy himself some time he threw the ball perfectly i mean he saw the leverage that drayton florence had and when you go for the ball like florence did and you miss the boy there's nobody there then to help you out longest play of the game 46 yards for jimmy graham [Applause] what a big one here's robinson and kyrie robinson who is a rookie undrafted free agent out of west texas a m takes over after the injury to ingram gain of seven you talk about that play is huge joe because you give your offense room to work and those are the types of plays that ultimately lead to coming away with points we'll see now if new orleans is able to capitalize this you keep thinking as long as this carolina defense has been on the field when are they going to tire but luke he doesn't look like he's wearing down at all now second and three and off for the first down and it's robinson again picked up seven on first down now gets five on second down keekly on the tackle but a fresh set of downs for the saints who trail by four and you can see where the weather we're having in the field being what it is it looks like it's held up pretty well the equipment staff of the carolina panthers with shoe options different lengths of the cleats [Applause] here's robinson again [Applause] and kyrie picks up one by the way luke lee has a franchise record 21 tackles in this game he also has an interception thomas davis has the other pick here thomas is back in the lineup and positioned behind the fullback jed collins [Applause] has a first down and is able to hang on to the football that just floated to him and jimmy graham fired up after a first down catch well jimmy graham posted up that's where being a basketball player is a pretty good thing because you're right joe the ball did hold up and he's just able to go up then and make a play on it it's a good job initially when it came out it looked like it was going to be overthrown and that melvin white may have an opportunity to make an interception came in leading nfl tight ends in catches [Applause] he's been loud lately handoff is to robinson spinning off a couple of hits made the most of it gets two chase blackburn on the tackle second and eight eight and a half to go carolina all three timeouts left new orleans with two and now blackburn after making that play is not able to come off the field i think chase blackburn i think he's a good player too he gets a little overlooked with those other two he plays alongside now look at blackburn we'll take a break second down when we come back this game is sponsored by frost brood coors light the game's most refreshing beer weather seems to have moved out of here wind has died down the rain is gone and it's second and nine for the saints who landed one point six to nothing now are down ten six it off for thomas thomas has got a first down inside the tent higly on the tackle but not before a catch and run of 13 yards you've got kinkley to hold up just enough you know we've seen him make that play over and over but it looked to me like brees was able to give him enough of a fake that made him settle just enough in order to allow pierre thomas to pick that first down up saints come up to the line quickly handoff is to thomas down inside the five mike mitchell on the tackle again of four second and goal coming up well this is a heck of a drive right here to start on the three-yard line the big play to jimmy graham is what set it up and they've continued to move the football this obviously is a big set of downs right here the 46-yarder to jimmy graham that you alluded to is what presented this opportunity and pierre thomas may have gotten a hand inside that face mask so they stop the clock momentarily thomas out ingram is back in good news for the saints and it's the 10th play of the drive second and goal here's ingram ingram wrapped up immediately now third down and goal a lot of times you see sean payton trying to figure out okay what gives him the best chance here on third down to come away with a touchdown we see a lot of play action from the saints on second and goal you just don't know how much of a factor the ball being wet even though it's not coming down like it was joe still the ball being snapped makes the ball slippery coming up but they don't have a choice here on third down brees has got ground for the touchdown jimmy graham touchdown number 15 for the big saints tight end and new orleans back on top with the extra point coming that's like an alley-oop we saw him go up earlier and make a play on the ball and this time quentin michael he's trying to get physical you throw it up and let the guy who's 6-7 go up over someone 5-10 that's a great job of finishing this drive with a touchdown it's a five-yard touchdown pass jimmy graham with 15 touchdown catches he's closing in on the single season record for a tight end held by gronkowski 17 back in 2011 but most importantly for the saints who are trying to wrap up the number two seed they're on top by two shane graham will try and make it three [Applause] and he does what a game this battle in the nfc south breeze has got touchdown pass number 35 of the year to frustrate luke kiekley saints up three how about that drive and they went to their big guy they tight end jimmy graham saints had only 78 second half yards before that 97-yard drive to regain the lead to one point with six now it's three and carolina about to get it back ted ken waiting for it forest hit kicks it away little air under it so a chance for a return and it's again past the 20 not much more and now we're going to welcome you inside our broadcast booth joe buck and troy aikman with you on this rainy sunday here in carolina been a good game and these two defenses on display both sides have played well they really have and we came into this game thinking that it was going to be a low scoring game that has proven itself out and the big plays have really been the difference in this game so far both defenses have been exceptional and jimmy graham carolina had kept him pretty quiet you know through most of this game and then on that last possession what three receptions and then he comes down with the touchdown ready only four yards this quarter carolina not able to sustain much against the saints d here's tolbert the throwback he's had a big year to the 25 a gain of three david hawthorne on the stop again if the saints win they have the number two seed and that means a first round bye and to add on to what you said about sean payton troy he said i'm sure guys don't even know you get a bye week and i i don't i pulled out the itineraries from years past as almost an incentive to say hey guys you want to break after week 17 let's be the number two seed i thought it was really smart of sean payton to do that because i can assure you a lot of guys don't they don't know what a lot of these things mean [Applause] panthers playing without steve smith who was injured in the first half here's tolbert and the crowd getting frustrated as tolbert gets two not much in the passing game for newton and you wonder how healthy his legs are he hasn't looked all that good you can see it's just sprinkling here the grip on the ball should be better than it was at the start of the second half but now he's faced with a big third and five a big third and five and at this point in the game with just over five minutes to play you start to wonder how many more opportunities are you going to get if you don't do something with this possession right here troy 118 of carolina's 155 yards have come on just three plays there's just been nothing with regard to a long sustained drive all day cam newton's got to make this throw i mean there's pressure coming he knows it's coming was pretty nonchalant about it in the pocket but he had a wide open receiver to convert the third down and those are the ones you have to be able to make in a game like this that is six three and outs for the carolina panthers on offense fair again this january a showdown between two of the most explosive offenses in the country good game 13th ranked oklahoma state eighth ranked missouri at cotton bowl classic coverage begins friday january 3rd at 7 30. only on fox here's that last throw by newton on third and five yeah you're gonna see the pressure coming off the corner here and kind of the angle and you see what he sees i mean he's got a wide open receiver he's got to bring it down to where he can make a play on it and the ball sails on him cam newton who came into this game with a quarterback rating of over 93 on third down compared to under 80 a year ago it had been a much better down for newton and the panthers here in 2013. carolina over eight on third down in this game here's ingram now trying to chew up some clock and move the football against ron rivera's panthers is this new orleans offense and it's been better in this second half for the new orleans offensive line of not allowed to sack after giving up five in the first half [Applause] incomplete holstein the intended target you wonder group breeze now not wearing the gloves like he was earlier when the rain was coming down pretty steadily but as i said even though there may not be rain coming down right now that ball came out as though it was slick and that's to be expected the pants on the center brian de la fuente that he's wet the ball the grass everything so it's hard it's hard still not to have moisture on the ball and have it impact some of those throws and that very well could have been what happened to cam newton on that third down play as well third down and eight breeze down he goes in the first sack of the second half greg hardy was there captain munderlin was there and a loss of five on third down they bring the blitz once again captain munderlin and greg hardy had a lot of guys that were running down drew brees and an outstanding job defensively of being able to give the ball back to your offense with plenty of time left in this game to four minutes in three seconds four zero three on the game clock please thank you they're going to put a little bit more time on right now time not a factor as we'll look back not a lot of offense good defense it was more step with an onside kick early that resulted in three points in a six to nothing lead steve smith down he came back for one play that's been it he's out the rest of the day six sacks of drew brees d'angelo williams along touchdown run but then moments ago it was jimmy graham from five yards away his 15th touchdown catch of the season and now cam newton and the panthers about to get it back down three carolina with two timeouts as they call the timeout that's why they put time back on the clock a juggle on the catch and again [Music] he's gonna be knocked down near the 32-33-yard line abdul kaidus on the tackle a return of eight yards in the last three possessions have done nothing it's been three three and outs the fact that carolina is in this defense really speaks volumes to their the way their own defense is played when you've not converted a third down and you barely have over 100 yards throwing and here you are with the ball with three minutes and 52 seconds to play and all you need is a field goal to tie this thing up it's a great job by this carolina defense all afternoon newton on first down is going to be brought to the ground a sack by the saints and it's hicks akeem hicks came in with three and a half sacks a loss of seven [Applause] keem hicks right here and the new orleans saints have matched this carolina defense punch for punch i mean they've been exceptional as well so they've got to come out they've got to be able to make a stop and preserve this lead and akeem hicks he comes off the ball beautifully and makes a big play now newton's been sacked four times screen to the right they have it for the tight end that's olson and greg olson gets that yardage back after the sack plus one a gain of nine yeah it's a good job defensively though there by new orleans saints and rob ryan he has seen that play many times from this carolina offense they like that double screen they show it to one side come back to the other that's the exact same play that deangelo williams scored on last week against the jets a minimal gain there forcing a third and long and carolina as we said they have yet to convert on third down it's about time they're going to do something each side with two timeouts left on third down and eight newton finds olson but olson is brought down by harper and now it's fourth down and the decision is to bring the punt unit onto the field with under two and a half to go in two timeouts well they've been so bad on on third down that what gives ron revere any confidence they can convert here then you give the ball back to the saints needing a touchdown they'll be basically in field goal range a lot of confidence in your game i don't disagree with two timeouts but they would have loved to have gotten this away with over two minutes left no doubt in the half because then you get the stop with a two-minute warning they don't a minute 57 two-minute warning here in charlotte saints have it up three [Music] there's the game summary numbers-wise on the strength of an 11-play 97-yard drive the saints are leading by three [Applause] drive ended with a touchdown [Applause] the hands of jimmy graham he'll run it it's ingram [Applause] carolina will take a timeout [Music] they have one remaining [Music] cam newton has missed on some chances in this game he is watching as we all will be american idol looking for the next superstar join jennifer lopez keith urban harry connick jr along with ryan c crest as they search for the best new talent american idol's most exciting season yet begins wednesday january 15th here on fox second down and 9 for the saints one time out left for carolina [Applause] handoff is to robinson no gain time out carolina their final timeout and a third down coming up and it's always that question do you try and throw and get the first down do you run the ball on the clock down yeah and you know joe normally i'd say hey i'd put the ball in drew brees's hands you know maybe roll him out give him a chance to see the field does he have a high percentage completion for the first down okay turn it loose otherwise you know go down keep the clock running but we've seen some balls now come out of his hands a little differently because of the moisture on the ball and you know you got to then look at it a little bit differently i really believe that you know maybe they still roll brees out but i think he's going to be real real careful if he turns it loose and i wouldn't at all be surprised if sean payton just doesn't hand the ball off and say hey we'll rely on our defense with with little they times going to hand it off it's england nice work by this carolina front [Music] a gain of two matulay made the play and now on fourth down ted ginn jr will go back and the punt will be coming from more steps yeah and so you look back now on ron rivera's decision to punt and and it was the right decision and the defense did their job now cam newton is going to get the ball back without any timeouts but with still time left and a chance to try to get in the position to kick a field goal if nothing else and send this game into overtime sean payton will use a timeout [Applause] and with a minute two left we'll look ahead to next week's schedule fox nfl sunday doubleheader regular season comes to an end we don't know exactly which game will be on nbc on sunday night therefore one of these games could be taken away or that could happen to cbs so it's all subject to change coverage begins at 11am eastern with fox nfl kickoff on fox sports 1 followed by fox nfl sunday at noon eastern on fox so now cam newton who hasn't been able to move the ball for the most part at all the last four times he's had it will have the game in his hands forested hits it short punch again with a nice catch had to run a long way to get it after a short 37-yard punt so decent field position no timeouts remaining for carolina again a win in there in the playoffs the saints meanwhile are looking at a defensive stop and securing troy the number two seed in the nfc playoff picture well it all comes down to this drive right now and cam newton's going to have to show an ability to move the football against rob ryan's defense and something he's been unable to do throwing the ball throughout this game 55 seconds left starting at the 35 newton lets it go he's got king [Applause] they credit this offensive line ryan khalil right in the center you can see how much time cam newton has in the pocket to wait wait wait hey throws that's the best throw he's made all day they got the deep crossing route to ted ginn and a big play that sets him up right now in field goal position from the 28 on first down newton as it batted down incomplete meanwhile a lot's going on peyton manning has now tied tom brady troy with 50 touchdown passes on the season as the denver broncos are taking on houston he's still got a week to go that's the record he ties the record which brady set back in 07 and the dallas cowboys have just gone up by one point over washington redskins have about a minute left down by one no timeouts how about this game 42 seconds left the ball at the 28th second and 10. week 16 in the nfl newton and the ball at the 14-yard line clock stops with 28 seconds left these are two of the best throws i've seen from cam newton all day long this one here it's an out and up by greg olsen roman harper he didn't bite that badly there wasn't a whole lot of room on that plus you have malcolm jenkins at the safety position driving on this throw and it had to be perfect and it was the panthers lost their home opener against seattle they've won six straight at home since well within gano's range but the panthers right now are thinking touchdown and a victory second [Applause] [Music] [Applause] newton gets around it [Applause] for the passes pixel [Applause] malcolm jenkins comes off the edge and he gets no shot on cam newton and he's completely unblocked cam newton just brushes him aside as though he wasn't even there he makes a nice throw and what a drive by this carolina panther offense it's a scoring play so they give it a look and that looks like a catch all the way but maybe just give it a closer look it's going to be reviewed how about dominic hickson came in with three catches all year no steve smith for the better part of this day hixon's got his first touchdown and it is huge here comes the call from gene sterritor looks like a good catch to us after review the ruling on the field is confirmed and here in carolina with their 113th straight sellout it hasn't been this loud in this stadium in a long time 23 seconds left one time out for new orleans and troy the offense for carolina and in particular cam newton stepped up made big throws and took his team into the end zone there's no doubt i mean throughout this ball game they just had not been able to get anything going with their passing game that was what they had to have on that possession some big time throws by cam newton carolina had 60 yards total in the second half before that drive it went 65 yards in 32 seconds [Music] [Applause] we welcome in a new audience and if you're just joining us what's at stake for the carolina panthers they're 23 seconds away from stamping their ticket to the playoffs for the first time since 2008. they got the ball back they had no timeouts it took 32 seconds and cam newton found dominic hickson and for the former giant his first touchdown of the season in his first year in carolina and the catch put the panthers back on top i think rob ryan is defensive coordinator he's wondering how malcolm jenkins didn't get a better hit on cam newton as a free rusher cam newton hangs in there in the pocket and delivered a nice throw safe throw away and dominic hixson goes and gets it so after doing a job all day long the saints defensively give up the go-ahead touchdown new orleans had a chance today to clinch the division and clinch a second round bye unless something miraculous happens here with 23 seconds left we'll be looking ahead to week 17 and the drive will start at the 20. [Applause] you were there in foxborough week six tom brady with one of his patented come-from-behind wins and a three-point victory over rob ryan's defense in the saints and moments ago it's cam newton finding dominic hixson with a catch in the roll for the go-ahead points the carolina panthers the new orleans saints both coming in at 10 and 4. 23 seconds to go carolina's playing four deep going to force everything underneath trying to keep the ball inbound brees who's been sacked six times today almost got it to colston pass is broken up and while we talk about this defense led by sean mcdermott who's been here since ron rivera got here three years ago luke lee 24 tackles and interception and his linebacking made thomas davis 13 tackles and an interception it was an impressive performance by that man right there as you said 24 tackles had an interception he was wherever the ball was that's where you could find number 59 meanwhile craig hardy who got the day against the rookie armstead three sacks in this game there's lance moore 10 seconds left and the saints have to get it into the end zone so again taron armstead made the start his first in the nfl the rookie at left tackle and greg hardy who was shut out in new orleans no sacks only one tackle had three sacks today well the career long of shane graham's is 55 yards joe i was watching him in warm-ups and he didn't make anything over 50 yards to get it into the end zone as moore hops out of bounds six seconds left and if nothing else that's one maybe enough yardage to give brees a chance to get it into the end zone yeah you're right joe down four here so with six seconds you know maybe if you if you're able to get the ball underneath quickly you know you got one timeout you see whether or not they're going to try that or take a shot right here brees gonna heave it has will not make the end zone batted away and the panthers are in the playoffs [Music] [Applause] what a day for luke hinckley [Applause] what a drive by cam newton and for ron rivera in his third season who was 14 and 22 [Applause] through a 1-3 start this season he and his panthers have now won 10 of 11. let's go down to pam oliver well cam wasn't a whole lot of offense but you got it when you needed it just tell me about that drive to get the go ahead touchdown it wasn't pretty it was a lack thereof of offense in the whole game but we got a lot of resilient guys that just kept pushing and kept fighting and that's what this game is about it's a team effort the defense play lights out and we knew coming into this game was going to have a tough game but man was it so close what's possible for this carolina panthers offense defense special teams at this point well we still have to we have to win games like this it was close it wasn't pretty like i said but this is the definition of a playoff team a playoff game real close depending on the defense at times but when we needed the score we did we sure did appreciate it thank you so much back to you pam thanks they still haven't wrapped up the division they're at atlanta next week meanwhile the saints are home against the bucks state farm post game show coming up panthers in the playoffs with a four-point win over the saints

Channel: NFL

Views: 99,232

Keywords: NFL, Football, American Football, sport, sports

Id: yPga17ppOkU

Length: 130min 46sec (7846 seconds)

Published: Sun May 17 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/frydrocity]

What a great game. This is one of the franchise’s defining moments in my eyes

[u/OptimisticTurtle]

I loved this game. Luke's pick was so nice.

[u/5ilver8ullet]

I was there, lower deck, in the corner where Hixon caught the winning touchdown. When that happened, my buddy stood up on his chair and did the Super Cam move by tearing off his rain poncho and swirling it above his head.

I've never seen that stadium get wilder than when the downpour started in the 3rd quarter. Here's to hoping Rhule can lead us to another game like this in 2020!

[u/TheBiles]

One of the greatest games I’ve ever been to. The crowd went ape shit in the 3rd when it started dumping. Such an amazing experience.

[u/carolinacoop]

Monsoon game

[u/Shineyjo0326]

I was at this game. So much fun.

[u/[deleted]]

What a season. This and the Pats MNF game that year are two of my top fan moments ever. Atmosphere was unreal, especially for this one.

[u/Kevindurantissoft]

Nfl already blocked it :(

[u/Mug_Lyfe]

I was lucky enough to catch this live. The stadium was fucking hype.