The Carolina Panthers went 11-3 in games this season not played against the New Orleans Saints.Unfortunately, they went 0-3 in contests against their division rival.Drew Brees threw for 376 yards and two touchdowns, and the Saints defense got a critical last-second stop on their way to a 31-26 win over Carolina in Sunday's NFC wild-card matchup.The Saints sacked Cam Newton on 4th-and-23 on a potential game-winning drive that went deep into New Orleans territory before stalling. A critical Newton intentional grounding penalty on second down at the Saints' 21 cost them 13 yards, and the Panthers quarterback missed Devin Funchess on a pass to the end zone on third down before being sacked on their final offensive play.New Orleans will move on to face the Minnesota Vikings next Sunday. The Vikings scored a 29-19 win over the Saints in Week 1, though these are far different teams than the ones that opened the season.With the Panthers bottling up Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara on the ground, New Orleans resembled the Saints of yesteryear and relied on its Pro Bowl quarterback to carry the team.Brees completed 23 of 33 passes, including a brilliant 230-yard first half that culminated in a 21-9 Saints lead at the break. He connected with eight different receivers Sunday evening, led by an eight-catch 131-yard performance by Michael Thomas.Ted Ginn scored the game's opening touchdown on an 80-yard pitch-and-catch, and Brees hit Josh Hill from nine yards out in the second quarter.The Panthers had no trouble moving the ball themselves, controlling the clock for nearly 34 minutes and totaling 413 yards. But they're going home thanks to their inability to finish drives, settling for four Graham Gano field goals. Gano also missed an attempt from 25 yards out in the first quarter.Newton threw for 349 yards, hitting Greg Olsen on a 14-yard touchdown with 12:47 remaining for the Panthers' first touchdown. Newton also added 37 yards on eight carries on the ground.Olsen, finally fully healthy following an injury-plagued regular season, had a team-high eight receptions for 107 yards. His touchdown catch seemingly gave the Panthers all the momentum in the fourth, but that shifted when Newton briefly left the game on a violent sack that led to his being tested for a concussion. Newton was cleared but not before backup Derek Anderson stalled the ongoing drive, and the Saints marched down the field on their next possession, capped off by a game-deciding Kamara touchdown run.Kamara accounted for just 33 total yards, his lowest number since he was concussed in a Dec. 7 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He had accrued at least 89 total yards of offense in eight of his previous nine games, emerging as the clear NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.Ingram also struggled, finishing with 22 yards on nine carries and 13 on one reception.Brees, almost a forgotten man amid the ascent of his two running backs, was instead the ecosystem around which the Saints thrived. After Newton hit Christian McCaffery on a 56-yard touchdown with 4:09 remaining, Brees' decision to throw the ball into traffic on a fourth-down conversion attempt arguably wound up saving the game. Mike Adams hauled the ball in at the Panthers 31, costing Carolina a critical 16 yards.The Saints' next job will be knocking off a Vikings team that has gone 7-1 at home in 2017. During their first regular-season matchup, Sam Bradford was Minnesota's starting quarterback, and New Orleans employed Adrian Peterson.Much has changed since. Case Keenum is now starting under center for the Vikings, coming off a surprise season that will put him on MVP ballots. Peterson has long since been jettisoned, with Kamara and Ingram emerging as the best running back tandem in the NFL.Kickoff for this divisional-round matchup will be Sunday at 4:40 p.m. at U.S. Bank Stadium.
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