| Panthers–Saints rivalry | |
| Team1: | Carolina Panthers |
| Team2: | New Orleans Saints |
| Team1logo: | Carolina Panthers wordmark.svg |
| Team2logo: | New Orleans Saints wordmark.svg |
| Location: | Charlotte, New Orleans |
| Firstmeeting: | October 22, 1995 Panthers 20, Saints 3[1] |
| Mostrecent: | November 3, 2024 Panthers 23, Saints 22 |
| Nextmeeting: | 2025 |
| Stadiums: | Panthers: Bank of America Stadium Saints: Caesars Superdome |
| Total: | 61 |
| Series: | Saints: 32–29 |
| Regularseason: | Saints: 31–29 |
| Postseason: | Saints: 1–0 |
| Largestvictory: | Panthers: 45–13 (1999) Saints: 47–10 (2024) |
| Longeststreak: | Panthers: 4 (2002–2004, 2005–2007) Saints: 5 (2000–2002) |
| Currentstreak: | Panthers: 1 (2024—present) |
| Section Header: | Post-season history |
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, 32–29. The two teams have met once in the playoffs, with the Saints holding a 1–0 record.[1]
The Saints began play in 1967.[2] 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.[3] Both located in the Southeastern United States, the Panthers and Saints had a natural geographic rivalry set-up.[3] 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.[4] 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.
On October 22, 1995, the Panthers won the first game between the two teams, 20–3.[3] [5] From 2000 to 2002, the Saints went on a five-game winning streak over the Panthers, their longest of the rivalry.[6]
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.[7] Mills took exception to the Saints only expressing interest in re-signing him after the Panthers made him an offer during free agency.[3] [7] Mills would later become a member of both the Saints' Hall of Fame and Panthers' Hall of Honor.
After facing off as NFC West rivals from 1995 to 2001,[8] 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.[9] [10]
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.[11] Brees' record against the Panthers was documented to be historically close in both 2012 and 2015.[12] [13] 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.[14] [15]
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.[16]
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.[17] In the game, Newton also became the first rookie quarterback to pass for over 4,000 yards in a season.[17]
Often engaging in physical and hotly-contested matches, the Saints and Panthers have had scuffles and brawls during matches against each other.[18] 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."[14]
Both teams were successful during their 2017 campaigns, each winning 11 games.[19] 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.[20] [21]
The Panthers and Newton would part ways following the 2019 season. Brees would retire from the NFL following the 2020 season.[22] Brees passed for 7,949 yards and 55 touchdowns in his career against the Panthers, both figures higher than any other player.[22] 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.[23] In doing so, the Saints completed a season sweep of the entire NFC South division, becoming the first team to do so.[24]
Newton briefly returned to the Panthers in 2021, but was on the bench against the Saints.[25] 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.[26]
|-| | Tie 1–1| style="| Panthers
20–3| style="| Saints
34–26| Tied
1–1| Panthers join the NFL as an expansion team. They are placed in the National Football Conference (NFC) and the NFC West, becoming divisional rivals 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
25–23| 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| Saints' home game played at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge due to damage to the Louisiana Superdome caused by Hurricane Katrina|-| | 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| 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.[27] |-| | 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.
Saints fire head coach Dennis Allen following loss to Panthers in Charlotte.|-|-| Regular season| style="|| Tie 15–15| Saints 16–14| |-| Postseason| style="|Saints 1–0| no games| Saints 1–0| NFC Wild Card: 2017|-| Regular and postseason | style="|| Tie 15–15| Saints 17–14| |-