Chuba Hubbard ran 16 yards with 2:18 remaining for his second touchdown as the Carolina Panthers pulled out a 23-22 victory against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon in Charlotte, N.C., to end a five-game losing streak.
Carolina’s two-point conversion attempt failed, but the Saints picked up only one first down before a failed fourth-down play near midfield clinched Carolina’s first home victory of the season in four tries.
Quarterback Bryce Young threw for 171 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Panthers (2-7).
New Orleans running back Alvin Kamara rushed for 155 yards on 29 carries and accounted for 60 receiving yards on six catches, but the Saints (2-7) suffered their seventh consecutive loss.
Saints quarterback Derek Carr, who had missed the previous three games because of an oblique injury, was 18-for-31 for 236 yards and a touchdown.
Carolina got the ball at its 36-yard line following a New Orleans punt to begin the game-winning drive with 3:26 remaining in regulation.
The Panthers posted their first second-half touchdown by driving 86 yards on the opening possession of the second half. Hubbard ran in from 1 yard out, but their 17-13 lead didn’t last long.
New Orleans used 12 plays to set up Blake Grupe’s 51-yard field goal for a 17-16 deficit.
After a Carolina punt, the Saints marched 70 yards in 11 plays to take the lead on Carr’s 17-yard pass to Foster Moreau, though a two-point conversion pass failed.
Shemar Jean-Charles made his first career interception to get the ball back for the Saints, who then failed to convert for points.
New Orleans had the only first-quarter scoring on Grupe’s field goals from 29 and 33 yards out, but those came amid a scary stretch for the Saints.
Receiver Chris Olave was taken off the field on a backboard after attempting to make a catch across the middle and absorbing hits from a pair of Carolina defenders. Olave, a former first-round draft pick, was treated at a nearby hospital, but the Saints reported that he was moving all extremities and out of the hospital prior to the end of the game.
The Panthers went ahead with Young’s 3-yard hook-up with Xavier Legette. The Saints regained the lead when Taysom Hill ran 7 yards for a touchdown.
Carolina completed the first-half scoring on Eddy Pineiro’s 48-yard field goal 38 seconds before halftime.
It was a rematch of the Saints’ 47-10 season-opening victory at home on Sept. 8.
