Carolina Panthers (6-9)
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CAROLINA PANTHERS (6-9) VS. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (13-2) SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2018 – 12:00 PM (CST) MERCEDES-BENZ SUPERDOME – NEW ORLEANS, LA. TV: FOX (WVUE FOX 8 locally) – Kenny Albert (play-by-play), Ronde Bar- ber (color analyst) and Kristina Pink (sideline) LOCAL RADIO: WWL (870 AM and 105.3 FM) – Zach Strief (play-by-play), Deuce McAllister (color analyst) and Steve Geller (sideline) SPANISH LANGUAGE RADIO: Louisiana Spanish Network (97.9 FM) – Marco Garcia (play-by-play), Juan Carlos Ramos (color analyst) and Victor Quinonez (sideline) and two touchdowns are the most in club history, his 18 THE MATCHUP TDs have tied the club record and he joins Herschel Walk- The Saints will look to close their 2018 regular season in er as only the second NFL player with 1,500 yards rushing successful fashion today when they host the Carolina Pan- and 1,500 yards receiving in his first two seasons.. thers in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints have Sunday marks the ninth time since 1999 that the Saints posted 6-1 record at home this season. In the six wins, the have closed out the regular season against the Panthers. Saints have an average margin of victory of 15.4 points The NFC rivals have met 47 prior times to today. The Pan- per game. The 37.0 points per game average in the first thers have a 24-23 lead in the regular season, with New seven home games lead the NFL, while they averaged Orleans capturing the NFC Wild Card Playoff last year. In 416.0 yards per games on offense. the regular season, the Saints have scored 1,025 points, New Orleans will come into Sunday’s game with an NFL while surrendering 1,023. Since 2006, the Panthers have -best 13-2 record after a dramatic come-from-behind 31-28 captured five NFC South titles, while the Panthers have victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The win clinched the gotten four. These numbers prove how this has been the NFC’s number one seed in the postseason for the Black closest division rival that the Saints have had in their 52- and Gold, giving them homefield advantage. season history. Offense, defense and special teams all played an im- The last time the two squads faced off the Saints es- portant role in a fourth quarter that saw the Saints come caped Bank of America Stadium with a 12-9 win on Mon- back from a 28-24 deficit to punch their ticket as the num- day, December 17. ber one seed. Trailing by four in the final period, first In the win over Carolina, late in the third quarter, S Vonn Saints S Kurt Coleman stripped the ball from Steelers RB Bell forced a fumble by Carolina WR D.J. Moore deep in Stevan Ridley and it was recovered by DE Alex Okafor. New Orleans territory that was recovered by LB A.J. Klein After New Orleans’ next drive ended with a blocked field with the Panthers leading 7-6. QB Drew Brees then engi- goal, LB Craig Robertson snuffed out a fake punt attempt. neered an 11-play, 84-yard drive that ended with a 16-yard QB Drew Brees then engineered a ten-play, 46-yard drive rushing touchdown by Kamara to give the Saints their first that ended with a two-yard TD pass to WR Michael Thom- lead, which they would hold onto. On the game-winning as. The win was ensured when with 32 seconds left, DT drive, Brees completed four-of-four passes for 32 yards. Sheldon Rankins forced a fumble that was recovered by LB Demario Davis. The New Orleans defense held an opponent at 17 points or under for the sixth consecutive game and to 247 Thomas had 11 receptions for 109 yards, as he set a total net yards. Davis led New Orleans with eight tackles, new career-high with a league-best 120 receptions in one sack and two passes defensed. In addition to the big 2018, with his 316 grabs the most by an NFL player in his play by S Vonn Bell and Klein, CB Eli Apple recorded a first three seasons. With 107 total yards from scrimmage pick in the end zone near the end of the first half. Panthers vs. Saints: Week 17 2 THE COACHES Ron Rivera became the fourth coach in Panthers histo- ry on Jan. 11, 2011. A two-time NFL Coach of the Year, Saints Head Coach Sean Payton has posted a 125-78 Rivera inherited a 2-14 Carolina team as a rookie head overall record (.616), including a 7-5 postseason mark coach in 2011 and guided it back to relevance in 2015 as (.583) after the franchise had won only one playoff game they won their second NFC Championship in franchise his- prior to his arrival. Payton holds both the club’s top win to- tory, third consecutive NFC South division title and ap- tal and winning percentage. He continues to represent the peared in Super Bowl 50. Carolina finished the season with Saints as the model of stability not only within the NFC a franchise-best 17-2 record, including home playoff victo- South, as he is the longest tenured head coach within the ries over Seattle in the Divisional Round and Arizona in the division, but also among the most accomplished within the NFC Championship game. Overall, he’s posted a 70-56-1 NFL. Only the New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick (2000) (.555) record in the regular season and a 3-4 (.429) mark in and the Cincinnati Bengals’ Marvin Lewis (2003) have the postseason. Before joining the Panthers, Rivera been with the their teams longer. Payton is also one of just worked with the San Diego Chargers from 2007-10, coach- ing inside linebackers before taking over as defensive coor- seven active coaches to lead a team to a Super Bowl victo- dinator midway through the 2008 season. In 2010, San ry. The others are Belichick, the Seattle Seahawks’ Pete Diego led the NFL with an average of 271.6 total yards al- Carroll, the Oakland Raiders’ Jon Gruden (Tampa Bay in lowed per game and gave up a league-low 177.8 passing 2002), the Baltimore Ravens’ John Harbaugh, the Philadel- yards per game. From 2004-06, Rivera oversaw the Chica- phia Eagles’ Doug Pederson and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ go defense, guiding the unit to two top-five finishes in the Mike Tomlin. The 2018 Saints edition has posted a 13-2 league. In 2006, the Bears defense led the NFL with 44 record and have clinched the NFC South title, the best rec- takeaways, helping propel Chicago to an appearance in ord in the National Football League. New Orleans’ ten- Super Bowl XLI. In 2005, the Bears went 43 consecutive game winning streak was the second-longest in club histo- quarters without allowing more than seven points—the ry and the longest streak in the NFL this season. The longest streak in the NFL since 1969. Rivera was also line- streak only sits behind in club record books, New Orleans’ backers coach for the Eagles (1999-2003) and defensive 13-0 start under Payton in 2009, the season when they quality control coach for the Bears (1997-98). captured Super Bowl XLIV. The 2017 Saints squad yielded an 11-5 regular season record, producing their first playoff berth since 2013, behind a squad led by quarterback Drew 2018 NEW ORLEANS – CAROLINA Brees offensively and defensive end Cameron Jordan de- STATISTICAL COMPARISON fensively, this team featured seven players selected to the Pro Bowl, tied for the most in club history and four draft 2018 Regular Season National Football League picks selected to the PFWA All-Rookie Team, two more Rankings than any other club. With running back Alvin Kamara and Saints Panthers cornerback Marshon Lattimore, the 2017 Saints were the first team to have both the Associated Press NFL Offensive Record 13-2 6-9 Scoring Avg. (NFL Rank) 32.7 (2) 22.9 (17t) Rookie of the Year and Defensive Rookie of the Year since Opp. Scoring Avg. (NFL Rank) 21.3 (8t) 24.5 (21) 1967. The Saints defense saw improvement in virtually Total Off. (NFL Rank) 384.9 (6) 373.2 (11) every major statistical category. New Orleans moved up Rushing Off. (NFL Rank) 122.7 (10) 135.0 (4) ten spots in total defense, including from 32nd to 15th Passing Off. (NFL Rank) 262.1 (11) 238.2(17t) against the pass. After ranking 31st in opponent points per Total Def. (NFL Rank) 347.4 (13) 357.1 (17) game in 2016, New Orleans moved up to tenth in 2017, Rushing Def. (NFL Rank) 78.1 (1) 108.0 (10) surrendering only 20.4 points per game. Payton earned a Passing Def. (NFL Rank) 269.3 (28) 249.1 (21) bachelor’s degree in communications at Eastern Illinois, Kickoff Return Avg. (NFL Rank) 24.3 (9) 22.4 (16) where as a quarterback he had 10,665 passing yards, at Punt Return Avg. (NFL Rank) 6.3 (24) 6.9 (19) the time the third-highest total in NCAA Division I-AA histo- Turnover Margin (NFL Rank) +9 (4t) even (14t) ry. Payton was inducted into the Eastern Illinois Hall of Penalties 88 90 Fame in September of 2000 and had his jersey retired in a Penalty Yards 845 808 ceremony in September of 2010. He received an honorary Opp. Penalties 83 85 doctorate from his alma mater in 2013.