Why did the Saints troll the Panthers with brooms?

There is no love lost between the Carolina Panthers and the New Orleans Saints.

On Monday night, the two NFC South foes met for the first time since the Saints beat the Panthers 31-26 in the Wild Card Round of last year’s playoffs. The Saints picked up where they left off last season against the Panthers, edging them for a 12-9 win.

It was a familiar feeling. The Saints went 3-0 against the Panthers in 2017, including that Wild Card win. New Orleans then had a little bit of fun at the Panthers’ expense after the third win.

New Orleans immediately celebrated advancing to the Divisional Round of the playoffs, and its third victory over Carolina, in the locker room. The Saints and head coach Sean Payton danced around and even brought out a broom to commemorate the sweep.

Later, Saints defensive end Cam Jordan sent Panthers quarterback Cam Newton a bottle of wine and a broom to cap off the sweep.

Newton said the “gift” of the broom from Jordan was “disrespectful.” But he’s kept them both in his locker — unopened — as a reminder.

“I am going to return to sender if everything gets taken care of,” Newton told reporters earlier in the week.

Newton was more than motivated to face the Saints again. Via Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com:

“At the end of the day, the Saints of this past year and this year, like, we all know what the Saints used to be, right? So, let’s not forget their real history,” Newton said. “So, I mean, they got the juice, but at the end of the day, we’re coming Monday with a cup for our own, too.”

Unfortunately for Newton, the Panthers came up short again. Newton, who has been dealing with a shoulder issue, struggled against the Saints. He completed just 16 of 29 passes for 131 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception that killed a potential scoring drive right before halftime.

How much was Newton hoping for revenge? His cleats for Monday night showed a wine label on one side and a broken broomstick on the other:

After the game, Jordan joked to ESPN that “the broomstick was not broken.” Then he was nothing but complimentary of Newton.

“He’s a helluva athlete, he’s a helluva quarterback, he’s a helluva competitor. It takes a full game plan to go after him, and I think we did just that,” Jordan said.

The Panthers desperately needed a win to pump life back into their playoff hopes. But now, they’re on a six-game losing streak and their chance of making the postseason is hanging on by a thread. The Saints already have the NFC South locked up and are closing in on a first-round bye.

The Panthers will get one more chance for revenge in Week 17, the second of two games against the Saints in the last three weeks of the season.