CHARLOTTE Trai Turner Color Rush Jersey , N.C. (AP) — Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints still have one of the league's top-scoring offenses, but lately it's the defense that's been carrying the NFL's most complete team.On a night when Brees and the offense couldn't get much going and made some uncharacteristic mistakes, New Orleans put the clamps on Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers in a 12-9 victory on Monday night, moving the Saints into position to lock up home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs."I believe in us, game in and game out, first quarter to fourth quarter," defensive end Cam Jordan said. "If it comes down to a crucial play, I believe in us." The Saints (12-2) held an opponent to 17 points or fewer for a sixth straight game. They limited Newton to 131 yards passing, sacked him four times and forced two turnovers. Carolina (6-8), which lost its sixth straight, had just 247 yards and 13 first downs. The Panthers' only scores came on a trick play on fourth down and an interception return on a 2-point conversion attempt."So proud of the defense," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "I thought they were outstanding. It's tough to win a division game on the road and we were able to do that."Alvin Kamara had 103 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown, and Brees had 203 yards passing for the Saints, who took a one-game lead in the NFC over the Rams. The Saints close the season at home against Pittsburgh and Carolina; the Rams visit Arizona and host San Francisco.Newton struggled throwing the ball more than 10 yards downfield because of a lingering sore right shoulder. He said after the game he's unsure what the injury is, but he mentioned his labrum and rotator cuff as possible issues. He has been limited in practice for weeks and doesn't have the zip on the ball he normally has.So much for his boast that the Panthers were bringing a cup to steal the "juice" from the Saints."(Newton) said something along the lines of they brought their own cup, a juice box or something Taylor Moton Jersey , I don't know what it was," Jordan said. "But I do know that he's got to go back to the refrigerator and pull out a bigger cup."The Saints swept three games from the Panthers last season and knocked them out of the playoffs, prompting Jordan to send Newton a bottle of red wine in the offseason, while some other teammates gave him a broom. This loss likely ended Carolina's playoff hopes again.Newton said his shoulder simply isn't getting better — or worse — and he refused to blame the injury, saying, "I have to be better.""Our defense played a hell of a game and we have to reward them," Newton said. "We had two turnovers in the red zone and that comes down to execution."TRICK PLAYSThe Panthers struck first after offensive coordinator Norv Turner dug into his bag of tricks.On a fourth-and-2 from midfield, Christian McCaffrey got a handoff, took a step toward the line, then stepped back and lofted a perfect pass over the middle to tight end Chris Manhertz, who was 15 yards behind the defense. Manhertz trotted into the end zone for a 50-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. It was McCaffrey's first career pass attempt, although he threw two TD passes while at Stanford. He became the first non-QB to throw a TD pass in Panthers history.APPLE'S PICKEli Apple intercepted Newton in the end zone with 10 seconds left in the first half."I knew they were going to take a shot," Apple said. "They ran a fade route. I just tried to get my head around and make a play on the ball."COSTLY TURNOVERSThe Panthers held the Saints in check for most of the third quarter, but the game changed when Panthers receiver D.J. Moore fumbled on an inside handoff. The Saints pounced, capping an 84-yard drive with a 16-yard TD run by Kamara to make it 12-7 early in the fourth quarter. The Saints went for 2, but Brees' toss was intercepted by Donte Jackson Wes Horton Color Rush Jersey , who took it back nearly 100 yards.That wasn't the only time the Saints cost themselves a scoring opportunity. New Orleans was on the verge of taking the lead late in the second quarter, but James Bradberry intercepted Brees' tipped pass and returned it to Saints territory.And New Orleans whiffed on a potential game-sealing touchdown when Tommylee Lewis fumbled near the goal line, leading to a touchback that gave Carolina one last chance to tie the game with 1:44 remaining. But the Panthers couldn't move the ball and turned it over on downs.McCAFFREY SETS MARKMcCaffrey broke DeAngelo Williams' single-season franchise record of 1,636 yards from scrimmage with a rush in the first quarter. He finished with 110 yards rushing and receiving.DUBIOUS STREAKThe loss extended the Panthers' streak of never having posted back-to-back winning seasons since joining the NFL in 1995.OLSEN UPDATEPanthers tight end Greg Olsen had surgery on his right foot Monday, his second procedure on the foot in the last 16 months. "Surgery went well and I am on my way towards a full recovery," Olsen wrote on Instagram.INJURIESSaints center Max Unger left the game in the first half after being evaluated for a concussion and did not return. He was replaced by Cameron Tom.UP NEXTSaints: Host the Steelers on Sunday.Panthers: Host the Falcons on Sunday. The Carolina Panthers aren’t a team that ended their season on a 1-7 skid because they missed a couple of opportunities. They were an almost-good team that lost a lot of games due to talent deficiencies. Injuries, age, and a lack of attention from management all played their part in constructing a roster that was good enough to compete against most teams, but bad enough to lose to them as well. Here is a look at the top needs the Panthers need to address on their roster to make sure that 2019 isn’t plagued by the same curse.QuarterbackCam Newton is progressing well, by all accounts, from recent surgery on his throwing shoulder. That is great news for the Panthers because two games without him, and six more with him only being mildly healthy, proved this team is not built to win without number one on the field. The Panthers have to bring in some additional talent to compete for the privilege of being the break-in-case-of-emergency option in the event that Newton’s recovery stalls out. Kyle Allen or Taylor Heinicke might prove to be that option, but the team cannot afford to assume that they will be. There has to be competition to be certain.Offensive tackleThe Panthers dealt with a rough stretch of injuries at the offensive tackle position before the 2018 season even started. Matt Kalil and soon to be free agent Daryl Williams had little to no impact on this season. Even losing Amini Silatolu felt like an actual loss. Kalil will likely be on the roster in 2019, whether or not he has an impact on the season is anybody’s guess. He is perennially back from injury, this year will be no different. Williams is the more intriguing athlete Stephen Curry Jersey , he has neither the contract nor the injury history that weighs down expectations for Kalil. There has been no indication yet as to the Panthers plans for this position in the coming year, but it is unlikely they are going to start the year with Taylor Moton as the only healthy tackle under contract.CenterRyan Kalil has retired after 12 seasons, five Pro Bowls, and two first team All Pro honors. Tyler Larsen, the heir apparent, has been OK in relief of an oft-injured Kalil in the past two seasons and is under contract through 2020. This won’t be the highest priority for the Panthers this year, but don’t be surprised to see them drop a high draft pick if the right guy comes along.Defensive endThe Panthers ranked 27th in the league in 2018 with only 35 sacks. It seems, in hindsight, that relying on a 37 year old defensive lineman to be one of your premiere pass rushers might have been a mistake. Mario Addison is still a good defensive end, but he can’t play by himself. Ron Rivera’s defense requires putting pressure on the quarterback. That starts up front. The Panthers absolutely must invest, in either free agency or the draft, in improving their talent at defensive end if they want to field a defense that looks professional. SafetyEric Reid and Mike Adams combined last year to form a fairly competent pair of safeties. That is remarkable for one guy who didn’t have an off season and another who has probably seen too many. Neither of them are still under contract in 2019 and neither of them are guaranteed to be options for the Panthers in free agency. Reid may be too expensive and Adams is pushing 38. Rashaan Gaulden and Colin Jones can’t be the top two safeties heading into training camp.These are the top needs for the Carolina Panthers running into 2019. There will be a lot of options in both free agency and the draft to address them. The rest of this week on Cat Scratch Reader will be devoted to talking about whether and how the Panthers should use the NFL draft, specifically, to see to these positions.
