Saints outlasted the Panthers in thrilling wild card game thanks to a vintage Drew Brees performance

Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram were the stars of the Saints offense during the regular season. But Drew Brees clearly still has it, and he’s the main reason the Saints beat the Panthers in wild card play.

It was a down year for Brees, statistically speaking. He threw for almost 900 fewer yards than he did in 2016, and had 23 touchdowns compared to 37 the season before. It’s not because Brees didn’t play well or that he’s losing a step. The Saints just didn’t need him to carry the offense. The Saints were almost impossible to stop, thanks to the one-two punch of Kamara and Ingram in the backfield.

Brees and the Saints put up 21 points on the Panthers in the first half and didn’t even convert a single third down to do it. It wasn’t that they couldn’t convert on third down. They never had a single third down to convert. And Brees posted a nearly flawless passer rating in that half.

Kamara and Ingram still got some chances, but they weren’t much of a factor. Kamara finished with just 23 rushing yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, and Ingram had 22 yards on nine carries.

But Brees only threw for more than 300 yards in three games this season. So his performance — 376 yards, two touchdowns and one pick — wasn’t what anyone expected after watching Kamara and Ingram run all over everyone this season.

The Saints’ ground attack is the best in the league. That’s why they didn’t have to rely on Brees as much this season. Teams have no choice but to account for them if they’re on the field, and Sean Payton took advantage.

Brees had tight end Josh Hill hilariously wide open in the second quarter, thanks in large part to Ingram. Ingram lined up in the backfield, and the Panthers defense stacked the box. That left the secondary scrambling, and Hill available for the 9-yard score.

There were some questions this season about whether or not Brees’ arm strength was declining at age 38. The Saints’ first score of the day, an 80-yard bomb to Ted Ginn Jr., suggests there’s no reason to worry.

Ginn gets plenty of yards after the catch, but Brees puts the deep throw right where it needs to be. Not only is his arm strength still there, his accuracy is, too.

Late in the fourth quarter, with just under six minutes left to play and holding onto a five-point lead, Brees found himself under pressure. Julius Peppers is closing in, so Brees scrambles to his right and finds Michael Thomas for a 46-yard gain.

The play gave the Saints a first-and-goal from the Saints’ 5-yard line. Alvin Kamara punched it into the end zone two plays later to give the Saints a 31-19 lead.

The Panthers would score again thanks to Christian McCaffrey leaving everyone in the dust for a 56-yard receiving touchdown. And Carolina had a shot when the Saints went for it on fourth-and-2 just after the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter.

A Brees pass was intercepted by safety Mike Adams to give the Panthers the ball back with a chance to score. But Cam Newton made life a lot more difficult for the Panthers when he was flagged for intentional grounding on second down, which pushed the Panthers back and resulted in a 10-second runoff. Devin Funchess couldn’t haul in Newton’s pass in the end zone on third down. A Vonn Bell sack of Cam Newton on fourth-and-23 with just 11 seconds left in the game gave the ball back to the Saints. They kneeled it to advance to the divisional round.

The win was not all Brees, obviously. The defense held the Panthers to field goals on four of six scores and came up huge on the Panthers’ last possession. Michael Thomas came up with some big plays, and just the threat of what Kamara and Ingram can do on the field helps. But the Saints wouldn’t have pulled this one off without a classic Brees performance.