Panthers fall 47-10 in opener

NEW ORLEANS — It began about as poorly because it may have.

And it did not essentially get any higher because the day went alongside.

The Panthers opened the season with a disappointing 47-10 loss to the Saints on the street, and the theme of the day was established within the opening minutes.

After the Saints put a 59-yard landing cross on the board within the first three minutes (on an obvious miscommunication between cornerback Jaycee Horn and Jordan Fuller), Bryce Younger adopted with an interception on his first cross of the season.

The Saints proceeded to attain on all six of their first-half drives, and the Panthers did not cross midfield till the ultimate minute of the second quarter, permitting them to tack a discipline objective on as time expired.

Younger additionally opened the second half with an interception on his first drive.

Younger completed 13-of-30 for 161 yards and the 2 interceptions, and was sacked 4 occasions. His 32.8 passer score is the bottom of his profession. Backup Andy Dalton got here in for the ultimate two minutes.

The 37-point margin of defeat was the fourth-worst in franchise historical past, trailing simply the 52-9 loss at Oakland in 2000, a 41-0 dwelling loss to Atlanta in 2002, and a 51-13 loss at San Francisco in 2019.

Even issues that appeared like good concepts unraveled, equivalent to Jonathan Mingo’s nifty end-around run ending with a fumble.

Issues improved barely within the second half, with Younger scoring his first profession speeding landing within the third quarter. Even that took some effort, because the ball got here out after he crossed the airplane, and it was initially dominated a fumble on the 1 earlier than it was modified to a rating on assessment.