National Football League
Carolina 17, New Orleans 13
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 22, 2013
Where: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
Temperature: 72°
Head Official: Gene Steratore
Attendance: 73825

Panthers 17, Saints 13: Cam Newton hit Domenik Hixon for the winning score with 23 seconds left in the fourth quarter as Carolina stunned visiting New Orleans and clinched a playoff spot with its 10th win in 11 games.

Newton finished 13-of-22 for 181 yards with a touchdown and an interception while DeAngelo Williams rushed for 67 yards and a score for the Panthers (11-4), who can win the NFC South and claim the No. 2 seed with a win at Atlanta next week. The Panthers sacked Drew Brees a career-high six times, with Luke Kuechly (24 tackles, one interception), Thomas Davis (14, one) and Greg Hardy (three sacks) leading the strong defensive effort.

With a driving rain falling for much of the game, Brees struggled to a 30-of-44 performance for 281 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Brees temporarily salvaged the rough afternoon, going 4-of-4 for 75 yards and hitting tight end Jimmy Graham with a go-ahead touchdown pass to cap a 97-yard drive in the fourth quarter. The Saints (10-5), however, couldn't come up with a first down to run out the clock on their next-to-last possession.

Neither offense could do much in the first three quarters as the rain poured down, but Williams' 43-yard TD run gave Carolina a 7-6 halftime lead and Graham Gano tacked on a 40-yard field goal in the third quarter. Brees and the Saints marched to the go-ahead score with less than seven minutes left and looked like they would clinch the division title.

After the Panthers dropped to 0-for-9 on third down on their penultimate series, coach Ron Rivera drew a round of boos from the home crowd for electing to punt just before the two-minute warning. The move paid off, however, as the defense stopped the Saints' weak running game and Newton took the Panthers 65 yards in five plays, hitting a sliding Hixon for the winning score.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Panthers WR Steve Smith had his day cut short by a left knee injury in the first half. He returned for one play before sitting out the rest of the game and will undergo an MRI on Monday. … LB Junior Galette and DE Cameron Jordan are the first Saints duo with double-digit sacks since Darren Howard and Charles Grant in 2004. … Saints S Kenny Vaccaro left in the first half with a lower leg injury.

Top Game Performances
Rushing
New Orleans   Carolina
Mark Ingram Player DeAngelo Williams
13 Attempts 12
83 Yards 67
6.4 Avg Yards 5.6
0 Touchdowns 1
34 Long 43
Receiving
New Orleans   Carolina
Jimmy Graham Player Ted Ginn
5 Receptions 2
73 Yards 66
14.6 Avg Yards 33.0
1 Touchdowns 0
46 Long 37
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
New Orleans 365 126 239 1 2 1 4.0 0
Carolina 222 81 141 2 1 2 6.0 0
Upcoming Games
  • Carolina will play their next game on the road against Atlanta. The Panthers have a W/L % of .727 after a win and .750 after a loss.
  • New Orleans will play their next game at home against Tampa Bay. The Saints have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .800 after a loss.