Saints hold off Panthers to stay in the playoff hunt
Mike Ditka won the NFL Coach of the Year in 1985 after his destructible Bears tore through the NFL to a World Title. He is on the short list for this year’s COTY honors as his New Orleans Saints has defied all the naysayers and are in the middle of the playoff picture in the NFC with another victory Sunday afternoon. The Saints beat the Panthers 24-19 in Ericsson Stadium and are now 8-5 on the season. Ditka has transformed the Saints from last year’s 3-13 team into a contender.
Saints’ QB Billy Jo Hobert had a great three quarters in the victory where he was 11 of 22 for 157 yards and 3 TDs, which gave the Saints a 24-10 lead. Then Hobert nearly threw the game away in the fourth quarter. He went 1 of 5 for 10 yards and three interceptions in the final period. Luckily, the Saints’ defense held off the Panthers for the win.
The Saints got a strong running effort in this one. They rushed for 147 yards as a team and RB Ray Zellars paced the Saints with 88 individual yards. Troy Davis chipped in with 60 yards on the ground.
Defensively, the Saints showed up again. They sacked Panther QBs six times and intercepted backup Steve Beuerlein twice.
The Saints will try to position themselves into a wildcard spot next week as they host the St. Louis Rams. The Panthers, now 3-10, will travel to Big D to take on the Cowboys on Monday Night Football.