The Panthers–Saints rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints.
The Panthers joined the NFL as an expansion team in the 1995 season, joining the Saints as members of the NFC West. As part of the NFL's 2002 division realignment, the Panthers and Saints were both placed in the newly formed NFC South. As divisional rivals, the two teams play each other twice each season.
The Saints lead the overall series, 34–29. The two teams have met once in the playoffs, with the Saints winning.
Background The Saints began play in 1967. The Panthers, meanwhile, were officially accepted as an NFL franchise in 1993. They began play in 1995, joining the Saints in the NFC West Division. Both located in the Southeastern United States, the Panthers and Saints had a natural geographic rivalry set-up. Ultimately, the Panthers and Saints would develop an evenly and hotly-contested rivalry. The latter would also become the most commonly-faced opponent for the former. For their entire rivalry, the two have been divisional rivals, mostly as members of the NFC South alongside the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
1995–2001: NFC West rivals On October 22, 1995, the Panthers won the first game between the two teams, 20–3. From 2000 to 2002, the Saints went on a five-game winning streak over the Panthers, their longest of the rivalry.
Sam Mills was a figure of the early Panthers–Saints rivalry. A member of the Saints' "Dome Patrol" until 1994, Mills left New Orleans to join the Panthers for their inaugural 1995 season. Mills took exception to the Saints only expressing interest in re-signing him after the Panthers made him an offer during free agency. Mills would later become a member of both the Saints' Hall of Fame and Panthers' Hall of Honor.
2002–2010: Joining the NFC South and arrival of Drew Brees
After facing off as NFC West rivals from 1995 to 2001, the Saints and Panthers were moved to the newly formed NFC South in 2002.
In 2003, the Panthers defeated the Saints 23–20 in an overtime game en route to their first Super Bowl appearance.
In 2006, quarterback Drew Brees joined the Saints. Sean Payton also joined New Orleans as the team's head coach. The Brees–Payton pairing brought the franchise success, which it notably lacked prior to their arrival. Brees' record against the Panthers was documented to be historically close in both 2012 and 2015. However, Brees would win his final 8 matches against Carolina and finish his career with an 18–11 record against them. In his first twelve seasons as the Saints' starter, Brees only missed two games, both road losses at Carolina.
2011–2017: Cam Newton in Carolina and playoff matchup After a poor performance during their 2010 season, the Carolina Panthers selected quarterback Cam Newton first overall during the 2011 NFL draft. Linebacker Luke Kuechly was drafted by the Panthers in 2012, becoming a noted figure in the rivalry. Newton was allegedly one of the quarterbacks named in the Saints' Bountygate scandal.
During the final week of the 2011 season, the Saints defeated the Panthers. In the game, Brees extended his single-season record for most passing yards, finishing the season with 5,476 and also set the single-season record for most passing completions. In the game, Newton also became the first rookie quarterback to pass for over 4,000 yards in a season.
Often engaging in physical and hotly-contested matches, the Saints and Panthers have had scuffles and brawls during matches against each other. The 2014 season saw chippy games between the two squads; during the second matchup, the teams engaged in numerous fights and "an infamous all-out brawl after a Cam Newton touchdown run, resulting in multiple player ejections."
Both teams were successful during their 2017 campaigns, each winning 11 games. The Saints won both regular season matches and won the NFC South division, but the Panthers qualified for the postseason as a wild card. This set up a third game between the two teams during the NFC Wild Card round. New Orleans won at home in what would be a close game, 31–26.
2018–2021: Final seasons of Brees and Newton The Panthers and Newton would part ways following the 2019 season. Brees would retire from the NFL following the 2020 season. Brees passed for 7,949 yards and 55 touchdowns in his career against the Panthers, both figures higher than any other player. In what would be his final regular season game, Brees threw for three touchdowns and led the Saints to a 33–7 victory over the Panthers. In doing so, the Saints completed a season sweep of the entire NFC South division, becoming the first team to do so.
Newton briefly returned to the Panthers in 2021, but was on the bench against the Saints. The 2021 season would also be the last for Payton, as he retired from coaching following the season; he later returned to coach the Denver Broncos in 2023.
Season-by-season results
| Tie 1–1 | style="| Panthers 20–3 | style="| Saints 34–26 | Tied 1–1 | Panthers join the National Football League (NFL) as an expansion team. They are placed in the National Football Conference (NFC) and the NFC West, resulting in two meetings annually with the Saints.
| style="| Panthers 2–0 | style="| Panthers 19–7 | style="| Panthers 22–20 | Panthers 3–1 | Panthers open Ericsson Stadium (now known as Bank of America Stadium).Following their loss in Carolina, Saints head coach Jim Mora delivers famous "Diddly Poo" press conference and then resigns the following day.
| Tie 1–1 | style="| Saints 16–13 | style="| Panthers 13–0 | Panthers 4–2
| Tie 1–1 | style="| Panthers 31–17 | style="| Saints 19–14 | Panthers 5–3
| Tie 1–1 | style="| Panthers 45–13 | style="| Saints 19–10 | Panthers 6–4 | In Carolina, Panthers record their largest victory over the Saints with a 32–point differential and score their most points in a game against the Saints.
| style="| Saints 2–0 | style="| Saints 20–10 | style="| Saints 24–6 | Tied 6–6 | Saints record their first season sweep of the Panthers.
| style="| Saints 2–0 | style="| Saints 27–25 | style="| Saints 27–23 | Saints 8–6
| Tie 1–1 | style="| Saints 34–24 | style="| Panthers 10–6 | Saints 9–7 | During the NFL realignment, both teams are moved to the NFC South.
| style="| Panthers 2–0 | style="| Panthers 19–13 | style="| Panthers 23–20 (OT) | Tied 9–9 | Panthers lose Super Bowl XXXVIII.
| Tie 1–1 | style="| Saints 21–18 | style="| Panthers 32–21 | Tied 10–10
| Tie 1–1 | style="| Saints 23–20 | style="| Panthers 27–10 | Tied 11–11 | Due to Hurricane Katrina, Saints' home game was played at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.
| style="| Panthers 2–0 | style="| Panthers 21–18 | style="| Panthers 31–21 | Panthers 13–11 | Saints trade for QB Drew Brees.
| Tie 1–1 | style="| Saints 31–6 | style="| Panthers 16–13 | Panthers 14–12
| style="| Panthers 2–0 | style="| Panthers 30–7 | style="| Panthers 33–31 | Panthers 16–12 | Panthers win seven straight road meetings (2002–2008).
| Tie 1–1 | style="| Panthers 23–10 | style="| Saints 30–20 | Panthers 17–13 | Panthers' win is the Saints' only road loss in their 2009 season.Saints win Super Bowl XLIV.
| style="| Saints 2–0 | style="| Saints 34–3 | style="| Saints 16–14 | Panthers 17–15
| style="| Saints 2–0 | style="| Saints 30–27 | style="| Saints 45–17 | Tied 17–17 | Panthers draft QB Cam Newton.
| style="| Panthers 2–0 | style="| Panthers 35–27 | style="| Panthers 44–38 | Panthers 19–17
| Tie 1–1 | style="| Panthers 17–13 | style="| Saints 31–13 | Panthers 20–18 | Panthers clinch the NFC South with their win.
| Tie 1–1 | style="| Saints 28–10 | style="| Panthers 41–10 | Panthers 21–19
| style="| Panthers 2–0 | style="| Panthers 27–22 | style="| Panthers 41–38 | Panthers 23–19 | Cam Newton named AP MVP.Panthers lose Super Bowl 50.
| Tie 1–1 | style="| Panthers 23–20 | style="| Saints 41–38 | Panthers 24–20
| style="| Saints 2–0 | style="| Saints 34–13 | style="| Saints 31–21 | Panthers 24–22 | Both teams finish with 11–5 records, but the Saints clinched the NFC South based on their head-to-head sweep, setting up a playoff matchup at New Orleans. |- style="font-weight:bold; background:#f2f2f2;" | 2017 Playoffs | style="| | | style="| Saints 31–26 | Panthers 24–23 | First postseason meeting. NFC Wild Card.
| Tie 1–1 | style="| Saints 12–9 | style="| Panthers 33–14 | Panthers 25–24
| style="| Saints 2–0 | style="| Saints 42–10 | style="| Saints 34–31 | Saints 26–25 | Last start in the series for Cam Newton.
| style="| Saints 2–0 | style="| Saints 33–7 | style="| Saints 27–24 | Saints 28–25 | Game in Carolina was Drew Brees' final career regular season game and victory.
| Tie 1–1 | style="| Panthers 26–7 | style="| Saints 18–10 | Saints 29–26
| style="| Panthers 2–0 | style="| Panthers 22–14 | style="| Panthers 10–7 | Saints 29–28
| style="| Saints 2–0 | style="| Saints 20–17 | style="| Saints 28–6 | Saints 31–28
| Tie 1–1 | style="| Panthers 23–22 | style="| Saints 47–10 | Saints 32–29 | In New Orleans, Saints record their largest victory over the Panthers with a 37–point differential and score their most points in a game against the Panthers.
| style="| Saints 2–0 | style="| Saints 17–7 | style="| Saints 20–17 | Saints 34–29
| December 13 | November 15 | Saints 34–29
| Regular season | style="| | Saints 16–15 | Saints 17–14 | Panthers are 1–0 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (2005), accounted as a Saints' home game. |- | Postseason | style="|Saints 1–0 | no games | Saints 1–0 | NFC Wild Card: 2017 |- | Regular and postseason | style="| | Saints 16–15 | Saints 18–14
See also List of NFL rivalries NFC South
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