Panthers vs Saints Player Stats: Carolina Leads 7-0 in Second Quarter

Player stats from the scoring drive

Tremble gave Carolina its biggest gain of the drive, a 34-yard catch down the left side on second-and-12 from the Carolina 47. He caught another pass for 7 yards to the right on first-and-10 at the New Orleans 19.

Waller then caught a 13-yard pass down the middle on third-and-10. A pass on second-and-10 from the same spot fell incomplete after a New Orleans timeout.

Inside the 10-yard line, Carolina stalled. A first-and-goal pass intended for Tremble fell incomplete, and a run on second-and-goal from the 6 gained 4 yards. A pass on third-and-goal from the 2 also fell incomplete before the fourth-down touchdown.

Carolina ran the ball earlier in the drive, too. One run up the middle gained 3 yards, and another to the left went for no gain when Carl Granderson made the tackle.

Penalties on both sides

Flags slowed the Panthers. They were penalized for holding (10 yards), delay of game (5 yards) and an ineligible pass (5 yards). New Orleans was flagged once for holding, also for 5 yards.

Turnovers and timing

The Panthers have lost three in a row after starting 3-2. Their season has turned largely on turnovers: they have none in their three wins and 12 in their five losses, according to NBC Sports research.

New Orleans is a different kind of team. The Saints average 7.0 points in the first half, third worst in the NFL, and 16.1 points in the second half and overtime, third most.

Both the Panthers and Saints have a bit of the Jekyll-and-Hyde streak that defines the Falcons, as the NBC Sports report put it. It is only the second time since the NFL realigned its divisions in 2002 that every team in a division has three or fewer wins through the first nine weeks. The NFC East did the same in 2020.

Whoever wins will hold first place in the NFC South, for now.