Panthers’ Rally Comes Up Short Against Saints
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Butch Dill/Associated Press
The Panthers had to win. Off to a 1-4 start a year after a dazzling 15-1 Super Bowl season last year, the team mounted a furious comeback against the Saints only to lose on a 52-yard field goal, 41-38.
The 21-point deficit the Panthers overcame would have been the biggest in team history had they won.
Drew Brees completed an 87-yard bomb to Brandin Cooks, to give the Saints a 14-0 lead. It was the second longest touchdown pass of the season. The longest, 98 yards, was also Brees to Cooks, against the Raiders. Brees was 34-49 for 465 yards in the wild game.
After trailing 21-0, the Panthers came all the way back and scored a fourth-quarter touchdown to close the score to 31-30. Then they missed the extra point.
But Cam Newton dove into the end zone with three minutes left after a long pass interference call and completed a 2-point conversion to tie the game at 38-38.
There was…
