The Series: With the 34-3 victory, New Orleans swept the season series with Carolina, who leads the all-time series 17-15. The Panthers lost to the Saints, 16-14, earlier this season at the Louisiana Superdome (10/3/10). This marked the first time since 2001 that New Orleans defeated Carolina in both regular season meetings.
For Starters: Running back Jonathan Stewart made his second consecutive start in place of the injured DeAngelo Williams, who was inactive because of a sprained foot suffered versus San Francisco (10/24/10). Dante Rosario started his fourth game of the season as the Panthers opened in a two tight end set.
Inactives: The following eight players were inactive for the Panthers: wide receiver Armanti Edwards, defensive tackle Andre Neblett, tackle Jeff Otah, quarterback Tony Pike (third quarterback), wide receiver Devin Thomas, running back DeAngelo Williams, linebacker Jason Williams and cornerback C.J. Wilson.
Marshall Plan: Cornerback Richard Marshall intercepted New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees in the first quarter and returned it 66 yards to move into second place in team history with 290 interception return yards. He surpassed the 228 yards by Eric Davis from 1996-2000 and 283 yards by Chris Gamble from 2004-current. Mike Minter holds the team record with 418 interception return yards. The Panthers second-round draft choice in 2006, Marshall is also tied for second in team history with two interception returns for touchdown and is tied for fifth with 14 interceptions. He led or tied for the team lead in interceptions in three of his first four seasons and stands second this year with two.
Takeaway/Giveaway: Carolina forced one turnover on Marshall's second interception of the season. The Panthers turned it over twice on one fumble and one interception to finish with a minus-one turnover ratio. The one takeaway resulted in three points for Carolina, and the two giveaways led to 14 points for New Orleans. The Panthers have a negative-11 turnover ratio this season, compiling an 0-2 record when having a positive turnover margin and a 1-5 record when having a negative turnover margin.
Sakrete Sacks: The Panthers collected one sack against the Saints and have gathered 12 this season. Defensive end Charles Johnson and linebacker Nic Harris shared a 10-yard sack of Saints quarterback Chase Daniel in the fourth quarter. Johnson leads the team with 3.5 sacks this season.
During the 2010 season, Sakrete, a leader in concrete and concrete-related products, is donating $100 to the BVC Playground Build for every sack Carolina records. Through eight games, $1,200 has been raised.
The Specialists: Kicker John Kasay connected on one-of-two field goal attempts - converting from 20 yards and missing wide right from 40 yards. He has been successful on 10-of-12 field goal attempts and perfect on all eight of his extra point opportunities for a team-leading 38 points this season.
Punter Jason Baker generated a gross average of 47.0 yards and net average of 42.0 yards with one inside the 20, one touchback and long of 52 yards on seven punts. His gross average improved to 44.0 yards and his net average increased to 37.7 yards with 11 punts inside the 20, three touchbacks and long of 57 yards this season.
Kickoff specialist Rhys Lloyd placed both of his kickoffs in the end zone with two touchbacks, helping limit the Saints to an average kickoff drive start of their own 20-yard line. He has reached the end zone on 18-of-23 kickoffs with eight touchbacks this season.
Quarterbacks: Panthers quarterbacks combined to complete 17-of-36 passes for 107 yards and no touchdowns with one interception to generate a 42.4 quarterback rating.
Matt Moore started and completed three-of-six passes for 13 yards to produce a 56.2 quarterback rating before leaving the game with a shoulder injury. In six games with five starts this season, he has completed 79-of-143 passes for 857 yards and five touchdowns with 10 interceptions.
Rookie Jimmy Clausen replaced Moore in the second quarter and completed eight-of-18 passes for 47 yards with one interception to post a 28.5 quarterback rating. He has completed 51-of-109 passes for 501 yards and one touchdown with four interceptions in six games with three starts this season.
Rookie Tony Pike made his NFL debut when he relieved Clausen in the fourth quarter and completed six-of-12 passes for 47 yards to compile a 60.1 quarterback rating. He threw a 2-yard screen pass to running back Mike Goodson for his first career completion.
Team Leaders: Running back Tyrell Sutton rushed for a team-high 41 yards on seven attempts, his first carries of the season. He scampered a career-long 32 yards in the first quarter, bettering his previous long of a 20-yard run versus Tampa Bay (12/6/09).
Running back Mike Goodson, tight end Jeff King and Sutton shared the team lead with three receptions each, while wide receiver David Gettis registered a team-high 22 receiving yards.
In The Zone: The Panthers posted a 33.3 percent efficiency rating in the red zone, scoring one field goal on three trips inside the Saints' 20-yard line. Carolina has been successful on eight-of-16 red zone opportunities, scoring four touchdowns and four field goals for a 50 percent conversion rate and 25 percent touchdown conversion rate, this season.
Claw Marks: Linebacker Jordan Senn rushed 5 yards for a first down on a fake punt in the third quarter. With the Panthers facing fourth-and-four from their 40-yard line, Senn took a direct snap and ran around right end, diving to the 45 for the first down after being tripped up.
Fleur-de-Lis: The Saints' 27 first downs (nine rushing, 14 passing and four penalty) equaled the second most ever allowed by Carolina, previously accomplished six times - most recently by New Orleans (10/3/10). The most first downs allowed by the Panthers is 28 at Oakland (12/24/00)...Saints cornerback Jabari Greer returned an interception 24 yards for a touchdown. It represented the second interception return for a touchdown against the Panthers this season, previously achieved by defensive tackle Ray McDonald with a 31-yard return for San Francisco (10/24/10).
