The Carolina Panthers were outplayed from start to finish, losing 47-10 to the New Orleans Saints.

First quarter

It wasn’t what we’d call an ideal start to the season for the Panthers. The Saints started with the ball and after a few positive plays, Derek Carr found Rashid Shaheed running up the middle of the field for a 59-yard touchdown. Jaycee Horn was caught looking for safety help that never came.

The Panthers try to respond more than once. Bryce Young throws over the middle and the ball lands in the lap of the Saints free safety. The defense held this time and forced a 57-yard field goal.

The offense had marginally more success on its second drive. Chiba Hubbard had a couple of nice carries, but Young’s poor start continued. He tripped over an offensive lineman on a blown play and then missed a wide-open Diontae Johnson on third down.

The Saints took over after the Panthers punt and encountered little resistance as they marched down the field. Alvin Kamara hit a big run to the outside, setting up a touchdown pass that Carr threw across his body into traffic but still found his receiver.

The quarter ended with the Panthers trailing 17-0.

Second quarter

The second quarter offered no respite. The Panthers took a 3rd and 1, but it was called back for a hold. Young was sacked by an unblocked defender on the replay.

The ensuing Saints drive was started by a late hit from Shaq Thompson. They sliced ​​the Panthers defense on the ground and worked into field goal range. The defense eventually stiffened up and forced a field goal attempt.

Jonathan Mingo took an end around on the second play of the Panthers next drive and promptly fumbled it away. It led to another Saints field goal. That’s 23-0.

The Panthers took over and did nothing. The Saints blitzed on third down and Young was an easy target. The Saints returned the punt to the red zone and scored on the first play of the drive.

The next attempt at a two-minute drill went a little better. Young missed Diontae Johnson on a short pass, but found him for a first down a play later. Xavier Legette made his first career catch for another first down over the middle of the field. The duo each caught another pass to set up an Eddie Pineda field goal and give the Panthers their first points of the half.

Third quarter

The halftime pep talk didn’t work. Hubbard was stopped on first down, Young ran around and threw the ball away on second, then knocked over a wide-open Adam Thielen and was intercepted for a second time.

The defense appeared to quickly get off the field as they put the Saints on 3rd and 19, but Michael Jackson made a 31-yard pass interference to keep the drive alive. It was capped off by an Alvin Kamara touchdown.

Young found Legette for a big gain on the ensuing drive and did the same to Mingo, but Mingo had come loose again when he was hit. Fortunately, he hit the sideline while still in contact with the ball, so the Panthers retained possession with the ball inside the five-yard line. It took four tries, but the Panthers scored on a Bryce Young scramble on fourth down, though he narrowly avoided dropping the ball before breaking plane.

The third quarter ended with the Saints again coming within range of a field goal.

Fourth quarter

That would be all the drive would produce. Thompson botched a Kamara handoff to force the Saints into their fourth field goal attempt.

The Panthers went 3 and out and their run was blocked. It only took a few plays for the Saints to score another touchdown.

The offense got within scoring distance, thanks in large part to a long pass to Adam Thielen, but the drive stalled just before the red zone.

The Saints pulled their starters and went 3rd and out for their first non-scoring drive of the game. The Panthers got good field position after the Saints interfered with the punt catch, but they still gave it away on downs.

The remainder of the match was played by both teams taking turns trying to stretch out the time.

Overview

It was a colossal, embarrassing failure on every front. Every element of the team was completely outclassed by the Saints. The defense allowed the Saints to score on every drive the starters played. The offense was bullied in the trenches, and the indecisiveness and inaccuracy that plagued Bryce Young in his rookie season was on full display. And the special teams team had a punt blocked for adding to the mess. It was all so, so bad. Kudos to everyone who saw it all. Double kudos to everyone who had to see it all and write what happened.

The Panthers will look to be less of a laughing stock during their home game against the Chargers next week.