[jwplayer jcPYpmHE]
Week 12 was a little more dramatic than it should have been for the New Orleans Saints, in which a series of penalties and mistakes allowed the Carolina Panthers to rally back from a late-game 13-point deficit. While the Saints did win the day on a last-second Wil Lutz field goal, that sloppy execution cost them in the latest NFL power rankings from Doug Farrar over at Touchdown Wire.
Requiring the opposing team’s kicker to miss a chip-shot field goal and two extra point tries to escape with a win, especially against a team that scored just three points a week earlier. It caused the Saints to tumble from third-place to fifth-best:
The Saints kept up with the Seahawks and just behind the 49ers in an NFC race that seems increasingly low on oxygen at the top. It took more than one might expect for New Orleans to beat the Panthers, 37-34, in a last-second thriller. Carolina overcame a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter with a 4-yard Christian McCaffrey run and a 2-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Allen to D.J. Moore (who also caught passes of 51 and 52 yards) to tie the game, but the Panthers’ inability to push it in from the Saints’ 3-yard line on their final drive, and Joey Slye’s missed field goal with 2:00 left in the game, set things up for New Orleans’ definitive drive. That Drew Brees’ team had the better kicker in Will Lutz was the deciding factor in a game that was messier than Sean Payton wanted it to be. Payton’s team finished with 12 penalties for 123 yards, including a highly ironic pass-interference call, and a pass defense that was vulnerable without cornerback Marshon Lattimore (hamstring) allowed Allen to look like a franchise quarterback. The Saints have little time to recover from this one, as they play in Atlanta on Thanksgiving.
The teams ahead of the Saints include the Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers, and Baltimore Ravens. While the Saints have stacked plenty of wins this season, they have some clear areas of instability they need to iron out before the playoffs, and time is starting to run out with just five games left in the regular season. New Orleans has proven it can beat any opponent on any field in the league, but it would be great if they can win a little more convincingly down the stretch.
[vertical-gallery id=23127]