If the Carolina Panthers were hoping for different results than what they had last season, then they were in for a rude awakening when they played the New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 2024-25 NFL season was a chance for the Panthers to put last season behind them, especially with Dave Canales as their new head coach. However, the Saints were ready to hand them a Bourbon Street beatdown.
From the outset, the Saints were making the Superdome feel like Mardi Gras, while the Panthers felt like they were being hit with every hurricane from Katrina to Ida. In the first half, the Saints scored on all 6 of their possessions, with 3 touchdown passes from (quarterback) Derek Carr & 3 field goals from (kicker) Blake Grupe. Meanwhile, the 6 possessions for the Panthers ended with (quarterback) Bryce Young throwing an interception, 2 punts, (wide receiver) Jonathan Mingo fumbling to (Saints safety) Tyrann “Honey Badger” Mathieu, another punt, then a 43-yard field goal from (kicker) Eddy Piñeiro. The Saints built up a 30-3 halftime lead, thanks to great plays from Carr & (quarterback) Taysom Hill, (running backs) Alvin Kamara & Jamaal Williams, (wide receiver) Rashid Shaheed, and (tight ends) Foster Moreau & Juwan Johnson.
Things didn’t look that much better for the Panthers, as they started the second half the same way they started the first…Young throwing an interception. Kamara made them pay for that pick with a rushing touchdown. The Panthers finally caught a break, when a 4th down play was overturned. Initially, Young fumbled & Mingo recovered short of the end zone. However, after a review, it was determined that Young scored a touchdown before he lost the ball. After Piñeiro made the extra point, Grupe made his 4th field goal of the game. The Panthers punted again, but Williams made them pay with a 14-yard touchdown run. Grupe would make his 5th extra point of the game. The Panthers committed heir 4th turnover of the game, this time on downs.
After scoring on their first 9 possessions, the Saints finally punted. Unfortunately, the Panthers would commit their 5th & final turnover, once again on downs. After both teams punted, the Saints committed a “garbage time” turnover, when (wide receiver) Cedrick Wilson Jr. muffed the punt & it was recovered by (Panthers tight end) Feleipe Franks. However, it was way too little, way too late, as the Saints defeated the Panthers 47-10. Speaking of 10, if it wasn’t for the 10 penalties that the Saints had, this score might have been worse.
This was as dismal of a start that the Panthers could have had. Young completed 13 out of 30 passes for 163 yards with no touchdowns & 2 interceptions. The Panthers only had 58 rushing yards, with (running back) Miles Sanders having a team-high 22 yards. The only sack they had was from (linebacker) Eku Leota & that only had a loss of 1 yard. If the Panthers didn’t make themselves look bad on their own, then the Saints helped them. Besides getting 2 interceptions from Young, their defense also sacked him 4 times…3 of them by (cornerback) Alontae Taylor. Not to mention, the offense of the Saints ran for 180 yards & passed for 200 yards. If this is any preview of things to come, then Sunday’s home opener against the Los Angeles Chargers might see the Panthers keep getting pounded.