The New Orleans Saints became the first team to sweep the NFC South Sunday when they earned a 33-7 win against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium.
The Saints finished the regular season 12-4 and after Green Bay's win against the Bears, earned the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs and will host Chicago in a Wild Card round matchup next weekend in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
The Saints took a 7-0 lead when Drew Brees connected with Jared Cook for an 18-yard touchdown pass. The play finished an eight-play, 42-yard drive.
The Panthers evened the scored later in the first quarter when Carolina running back Rodney Smith scored from a yard out.
The Saints retook the lead, 13-6, on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Brees to Emmanuel Sanders with 8:12 to play in the second quarter. The score capped a five-play, 54-yard drive the started when Malcolm Jenkins returned an interception 47-yards and featured a 36-yard run from Ty Montgomery.
New Orleans took a 16-7 lead into the locker room at halftime after when Wil Lutz connected on a 33-yard just before the end of the second quarter.
The Saints stretched the lead to 19-7 when Lutz hit a 48-yard field goal to cap the Saints’s opening drive of the second half.
The Saints scored again later in the third quarter when Taysom Hill scored his eighth rushing touchdown of the season. The run finished the three-play drive that was setup when Marshon Lattimore intercepted a pass from Carolina Panthers backup quarterback PJ Walker.
New Orleans made it 33-7 when Brees tossed his third TD pass at the start of the fourth quarter when he connected with Austin Carr for an 11-yard score.
The Saints also collected five interceptions in the win despite being undermanned on offense and defense due to COVID-19.
