The Carolina Panthers (7-7) let a huge opportunity slip through their hands Sunday during a 20-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints (4-10) at Caesars Superdome.

Despite holding the lead until there was 2:33 left in the fourth quarter, the Panthers coughed up their chance to close out the division race next week. The Saints mounted a comeback by scoring 13 consecutive points in the second half of their Week 10 rematch with Carolina, sweeping the season series on the year.

Saints kicker Charlie Smyth was able to connect on a 47-yard field goal with two seconds left in the game to push New Orleans past the Panthers. Rookie safety Lathan Ransom was flagged for a personal foul penalty on a late hit to quarterback Tyler Shough on a slide with nine seconds left in the game to step up the final score.

The last-minute loss to the Saints served as a massive letdown for a Panthers squad looking to curb a seven-year playoff drought.

What does Panthers’ loss mean for the NFC South division race?

The pressure is back on the Panthers. While they still control their own destiny, the loss in New Orleans gives them much less wiggle room in the division race.

The Panthers now need to — at minimum — win two of their next three games.

If they sweep the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 16 at home and in Week 18 on the road, they won’t need any help from another squad to win the division.

If they were to lose to the Buccaneers at Bank of America Stadium next week, they’d need to defeat the Seattle Seahawks at home in Week 17 and get some help from the Miami Dolphins that same week against Tampa Bay. If the Panthers and Buccaneers enter Week 18 at 8-8, the season finale would essentially be a playoff game, with the winner going to the postseason with a division crown.

Three takeaways from a Carolina letdown

— Bryce Young’s late-game heroics are finally curbed: Despite an excellent start to the game, Young didn’t do enough in the second half to guide Carolina to a win Sunday. He was unable to lead a game-winning drive after being nearly automatic in one-score games this season.

Young led a pair of scoring drives in the first two quarters. He completed 7 of 11 passes for 78 yards. His highlight of the first half came late in the second quarter on a scramble drill on fourth-and-3. He evaded a defender to avoid a sack and stepped up for an intermediate toss to wideout Tetairoa McMillan over the middle. McMillan was then set up to add some yards after the catch for a 21-yard gain. That play led to a field goal after Young and McMillan failed to connect on a would-be touchdown pass that was broken up by Saints cornerback Quincy Riley.

Young was able to connect with wideout Xavier Legette down the field for an explosive first-down conversion to start the second half. He lofted a ball down the field as he was about to be hit, and Legette was able to make a diving catch for 34 yards to take Carolina into New Orleans territory. A few plays later, Young threw a beautiful rainbow toss down the right sideline to Jalen Coker for a 32-yard touchdown.

Despite his tendency to be one of the more clutch QBs in football, Young was sacked on a potential game-winning drive in the fourth quarter by pass rusher Chase Young. That takedown stalled the Panthers’ final offensive series, and Young was able to make up for the lost yards.

Young was largely kept in check in the fourth quarter, which prevented the Panthers from closing out the game. He completed 15 of 24 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked once, and led three scoring drives.

— A mixed bag and a lot of penalties (eight!) from the defense: In a game where the defense was flagged for eight penalties, it was fitting that the final one would ultimately bite them when it mattered the most. The late hit by Ransom on a Shough scramble put the Saints in scoring territory, and ultimately led to Smyth’s game-winning kick.

It was the worst time to have a rookie mistake in a game of rookie mistakes by both teams.

The Panthers’ defense — while missing lineman Turk Wharton (hamstring) — got off to a nice start against Shough and the Saints’ offense. The unit, with nose tackle Bobby Brown making a trio of early run stops, forced a pair of early punts from the home team.

However, New Orleans was eventually able to mount a drawn-out scoring drive, which wiped more than 11 minutes off the clock in the second quarter. Even as the Saints were whistled for multiple penalties on the drive, New Orleans was still able to pick up steady chunks of yards on the ground after receiving the ball at its own 5-yard line.

A 95-yard touchdown drive was capped by a 4-yard scoring run by rookie running back Devin Neal. The plodding series lasted 17 plays, which made it feel like an eternity. Luckily, Carolina was able to answer with the 40-yard field goal from kicker Ryan Fitzgerald to end the half.

The Panthers, who committed quite a few penalties in the game (11 penalties accepted overall), got called for an uncharacteristic late-hit penalty on Pro Bowl lineman Derrick Brown in the middle of the third quarter. However, that mistake was negated on the next play on a penalty from the Saints, who were then faced with second-and-23. But not to be outdone in a messy game, cornerback Jaycee Horn was flagged for a pass interference penalty.

That’s when the pass rush stepped up to mitigate the damage. First, rookie outside linebacker Nic Scourton and defensive lineman Bobby Brown combined for a sack. Then, outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum produced his first sack of the season. The back-to-back sacks stalled the Saints’ momentum, and they were forced to settle for a 42-yard field goal.

Following a failed fourth-down attempt by the Panthers’ offense, the defense stepped up. Cornerback Chau Smith-Wade lined up offsides on a 46-yard field goal attempt by the Saints, which led New Orleans head coach Kellen Moore to go for it on fourth-and-1. Carolina was able to stop Shough before the line-to-gain, and took the Saints off the field without a point produced.

But after a stalled drive from the offense, Shough drove down the field with Chris Olave as his go-to weapon on a seven-play, 78-yard drive. Shough hit Olave on three consecutive passes for 51 yards. Eventually, the pair connected on a 12-yard touchdown to tie the game at 17-17 with 2:29 left in the game.

Shough eventually led the game-winning drive — with an assist from Ransom — and finished with 272 passing yards and a touchdown on 24 completions. He also ran for 32 yards on eight carries.

Overall, the Saints produced 337 net yards on offense. The Panthers produced no turnovers but have four sacks on Shough.

— This youth movement comes with gnarly growing pains: The Panthers had 11 penalties for 103 yards on Sunday. That is frankly unacceptable. While it felt like the Panthers played up to the moment in the first half, their mistakes were evident throughout the game.

Ultimately, they lost because they made more mistakes — especially in the second half — than the Saints, who made plenty of their own. Now, they’re in a bit of a bind heading into the next three weeks of their playoff push. That’s a tough go for a team that seemed to be finding its groove at the right time.

They’ll need to wear this one. Especially if they end up losing the division race to a Buccaneers team that seems willing to give it away.

The Saints have owned the Panthers this year. And those two losses have easily been the two worst of the year because of the stakes involved.

____

©2025 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.