New Orleans Saints vs Carolina Panthers Match Player Stats On Sep 27, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Sep 27, 2015

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Cam Newton threw two touchdown passes to tight end Greg Olsen and ran for another score as the Carolina Panthers defeated the winless New Orleans Saints 27-22 on Sunday afternoon at Bank of America Stadium.

Cornerback Josh Norman made a game-saving interception in the end zone with 1:09 remaining after the Saints threatened to pull off a late-game comeback.

New Orleans drove to the verge of the red zone before quarterback Luke McCown, starting in place of injured Drew Brees, appeared to have receiver Brandin Cooks open in the end zone. Norman's leaping snag resulted in the second turnover of the half for New Orleans.

The Panthers (3-0) had touchdown drives of 89, 83 and 88 yards.

Brees missed the game with a right rotator cuff injury and the Saints struggled on offense in the second half until midway through the fourth quarter.

McCown was largely accurate, completing 27 of his first 30 throws and finishing 31-for-38 for 310 yards passing.

Newton connected on 20 of 31 passes – both touchdowns covering 11 yards -- for 315 yards. He also rushed for 33 yards. Olsen caught eight passes for 134 yards.

New Orleans running back Khiry Robinson ran for a 2-yard touchdown run with 4:50 left to close the gap to 27-22.

Rookie Marcus Murphy, a seventh-round draft pick out of Missouri, returned a punt 74 yards for a third-quarter touchdown as the Saints took a 16-10 lead. The extra point was botched with a mishandled snap.

The opportunity came after a penalty on an initial punt caused the Panthers to punt again.

The second Newton-to-Olsen touchdown pass catapulted Carolina to a 17-16 lead with 8:43 remaining in the third quarter.

The Panthers stretched the lead to 20-16 on Graham Gano's 47-yard field goal after New Orleans tight end Ben Watson fumbled.

Newton ran for a 13-yard touchdown with 9:32 left.

McCown made only his 10th start in 12 NFL seasons. His most-recent start came in 2011 for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Panthers played without all-pro linebacker Luke Kuechly (concussion) for the second game in a row.

It was 10-10 at halftime.

McCown led the Saints to a field goal on the game's opening possession.

That was topped the next time New Orleans had the ball because of a 16-play, 94-yard drive that consumed more than nine minutes. Ingram scored on a 5-yard run as the Saints built a 10-0 lead on the second play of the second quarter.

The ball-control theme continued when the Panthers got untracked with a 12-play, 80-yard march that took 6:30 and ended with Newton's 11-yard pass to tight end Greg Olsen.

The next Carolina drive fizzled at the 2-yard line, so the Panthers settled for Gano's 20-yard field goal with two seconds left in the half.

Each team had three first-half possessions.

The Panthers lost veteran defensive end Charles Johnson to a hamstring injury on the second-to-last play of the third quarter.

NOTES: QB Drew Brees of the Saints hadn't missed a game because of an injury since joining the Saints in 2006. During that time, he leads the NFL with 318 touchdown passes. … Panthers DT Star Lotulelei played for the first time this season. He had been out since training camp with a foot injury. … The Panthers signed WR Brenton Bersin from the practice squad and waived TE Brandon Williams. Bersin had one start for Carolina in 2014, making 13 total catches. … New Orleans has a prime-time matchup next Sunday night at home against the Dallas Cowboys. … Carolina, which has only one October home game, visits Tampa Bay next week.