Late FG drive lets Saints complete season sweep of Panthers

Field Level Media|published: Sun 14th December, 20:01 2025

Dec 14, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Devin Neal (24) reacts after scoring a touchdown during the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Tyler Shough passed for 272 yards and a touchdown and helped set up Charlie Smyth's go-ahead field goal, and the host New Orleans Saints defeated the Carolina Panthers 20-17 on Sunday.

Shough and the Saints drove 62 yards in 51 seconds before giving way to Smyth for a 47-yard field goal, which split the uprights with two seconds left.

The Saints (4-10) swept the Panthers (7-7), having won 17-7 on Nov. 9 in Charlotte.

Bryce Young threw for 163 yards and rushed for 49 to lead the Panthers, who fell into a tie with Tampa Bay for first place in the NFC South. Carolina and the Buccaneers face each other twice in the final three weeks, beginning with a game in Charlotte next Sunday.

The Saints started their drive at their own 9 with 57 seconds left, enough time for Shough to complete three passes in a row. Then Shough ran up the middle for 4 yards and Carolina rookie Lathan Ransom hit him during his slide. The unnecessary roughness tacked on 15 yards and put New Orleans in field goal range.

The Panthers received the second-half kickoff and Young soon tossed a 32-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Coker, increasing Carolina's lead to 17-7. Smyth's 42-yard field goal trimmed the lead to seven points at the end of the third quarter.

Carolina drove into scoring range, but Chuba Hubbard was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-1 from the New Orleans 35 with 10:56 to play. The Saints moved to the Panthers' 23, but turned the ball over on downs with 6:53 remaining.

New Orleans forced a punt and took over at its 22 with 4:37 left, and Shough completed six passes, the last of which was a 12-yard touchdown to Chris Olave to tie the score with 2:29 remaining.

On their first possession the Panthers marched 74 yards in 13 plays and Dowdle ran 4 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead that held up through the end of the first quarter.

New Orleans had its longest scoring drive of the season in terms of plays (17), yards (95) and time of possession (11:22) and rookie Devin Neal ran 4 yards for a touchdown that tied the score at 7.

Ryan Fitzgerald kicked a 40-yard field goal with 21 seconds remaining in the period, giving Carolina a 10-7 halftime lead.

--Field Level Media

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