The Carolina Panthers pulled off a wild 20-17 win against the New Orleans Saints, securing the victory on a last-second field goal, even after being absolutely slammed by an avalanche of penalties. Some of those flags were probably legit, sure, but a whole lot of ’em felt like the officials were just out to lunch.
Chaos and Questionable Calls in Q1
Right out of the gate, Ryan Fitzgerald tried to set the tone, kicking the opening kickoff out of bounds. The defense, though? They were locked in early, forcing the Saints into a fourth-and-one. Tyler Shough tried to hit Chris Olave, but Devin Lloyd tipped it and picked it off, taking it all the way back to the New Orleans 23-yard line. Chuba Hubbard then busted a nice run to kick off that drive, moving the Panthers closer, but Bryce Young stumbled trying to scramble out of a collapsing pocket and was touched down just short of the first down. So the defense had to take the field again, with the Saints backed up against their own goal line, and they delivered with three straight stops to force a punt. Trevor Etienne let that punt bounce, adding a bunch of extra yards to it, but he managed to scoop it up and regain a few on the return.
The offense then rode Chuba Hubbard deep into Saints territory. They picked up a third-and-nine on a pass to Darren Waller, but then the refs threw another flag, calling a phantom offensive pass interference that killed the drive. Sam Martin, though, pinned the Saints inside the five with his punt. The defense was about to get off the field on a third-and-four when Derrick Brown jumped offsides. That was the team’s fifth penalty of the first quarter, which is just bonkers. Luckily, it did not hurt them; the defense made another stop three plays later when Jaelan Phillips got a fingertip on Tyler Shough’s third down pass.
The Chuba Show Hits Penalty Roadblocks
The Chuba show just kept rolling into the second quarter. He snagged a check-down pass for a first down into Saints territory, then broke off a huge run down to the 30-yard line. On the very next play, Bryce Young had Darren Waller wide open down the sideline, but Waller flat-out dropped it. McMillan also failed to reel in a catchable ball on third down, which then forced Ryan Fitzgerald onto the field, where he proceeded to miss a field goal, keeping the score knotted at zero.
The Saints responded with Tyler Shough finding Juwan Johnson for a third-down pass to get into Panthers territory. But then, on the very next play, Shough and Audric Estime botched a handoff exchange, and Jaelan Phillips scooped it up for the Panthers. Tommy Tremble took a screen pass and fought his way into the red zone. A couple plays later, Hubbard punched it in for a touchdown! You could feel the energy! But nope, another flag, another questionable late holding call that pulled it back. Dave Canales was giving the refs a hard time during a Saints timeout, and the broadcast team was straight up talking about how this was the second time the officials had totally screwed over Carolina. Young eventually found Waller to pick up the first down, and Chuba Hubbard ran it right down to the one. Two incompletions then set up another nervous fourth down situation.
It’s truly incredible that this team found a way to win this game. Dealing with an officiating crew that seemed determined to make every call against them, fighting through drops and missed opportunities, yet still closing it out with a last-second field goal. That kind of grit is something to build on as the season progresses.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Cat Scratch Reader.
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