SAINTS MARCH OUT IN FRONT OF DIVISION
Kamara scores two TDs in NFC South showdown against the Panthers
Rookie sensation Alvin Kamara scored two tackleshedding touchdowns, New Orleans took advantage of a pair of Carolina special teams gaffes and the Saints reclaimed sole possession of first place in the NFC South with a 31-21 victory over the Panthers on Sunday.
Mark Ingram rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown for the Saints (93), who own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Carolina (8-4) with four games to go.
Drew Brees passed for 269 yards, including a 10-yard TD to Michael Thomas a few plays after a botched Panthers punt gave New Orleans the ball on the Carolina 31.
In the fourth quarter, a fumble by Panthers punt returner Kaelin Clay near midfield set up Wil Lutz’s 31-yard field goal to give New Orleans a 31-14 lead.
Cam Newton passed for 183 yards and touchdowns of 21 yards to Christian McCaffrey and 24 yards to Devin Funchess. Newton also ran for 51 yards. Jonathan Stewart added a short TD run for Carolina, which saw a four-game winning streak end.
But the Panthers were unable to convert a crucial fourth-and-six play deep in Saints territory in the fourth quarter. Newton connected with Funchess, who was stopped a yard short by cornerback Ken Crawley.
Kamara finished with 122 yards from scrimmage, capping his day with a serpentine 22-yard gain on a third-and-10 screen pass with a little more than two minutes left.
Kamara has touchdowns in six straight games, the first time a Saints rookie has done so in the team’s 51-year history. Kamara needs three touchdowns to break George Rogers’s rookie franchise record of 13.
In another game featuring an NFC South team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dropped to 4-8 after losing 26-20 in overtime to the Green Bay Packers.
The key play was Dean Lowry scoring on a 62-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown that might have felt like an eternity to fans at Lambeau Field. Lowry’s score highlighted a solid effort for the Packers defence, and Green Bay’s offence relied on the running game to beat Tampa Bay. The game ended on the opening possession of overtime with Aaron Jones’s 20yard scoring run on his only carry.
Lowry’s touchdown was even more entertaining. He snatched the ball out of the air following a strip sack of Jameis Winston by Kenny Clark. Seconds later, the six-foot-six, 296-pound lineman was making a Lambeau leap.
The Packers (6-6) got seven sacks along with a blocked punt by Kyler Fackrell and kept their playoff hopes alive. They still trail NFC North-leading Minnesota by four games, but there is renewed optimism with the possibility of quarterback Aaron Rodgers returning from a collarbone injury in a couple weeks.
Green Bay spoiled the return of Winston to the Bucs, whose playoff hopes are just about done.
Still, Winston refused to focus on anything but getting better for next week’s game against Detroit. The quarterback missed Tampa Bay’s three previous games with a shoulder injury.