"The Carolina Panthers were one first down away from a shot at taking down the defending Super Bowl champions. One first down away from gaining a heap of confidence moving forward. One first down away from saving their fledgling season. But then first downs have not been easy to come by for the offensively-challenged Panthers this season, who only managed 10 in Sunday's 16-14 loss to the New Orleans Saints at the Louisiana Superdome. "We were just wanting to get a few more yards and kick it through and go home," said offensive tackle Jordan Gross. "It just didn't happen." Although the Saints outgained the Panthers 383 to 251, held nearly a 17-minute advantage in time of possession and had 18 more first downs than the visitors, the Panthers still had a shot at the end. Behind their first multi-touchdown game of the season, the Panthers actually led 14-13 late in the fourth quarter before John Carney put the Saints ahead for good with a 25-yard field goal with 3:55 remaining. Working both the clock and the field, Jimmy Clausen moved the Panthers to the Saints 36, completing a pretty 16-yard reception to David Gettis on fourth-and-4 after stepping out of the pocket to avoid the pass rush. But needing one more yard to get in what the Panthers considerer John Kasay's field goal range, the offense stumbled. On second-and-8, DeAngelo Williams tried to cut back against the grain, but was corralled by safety Usama Young for a 4-yard loss. On the next play, Clausen took a sack for a 4-yard loss, driving the Panthers back to the 40 and out of field goal range. A desperation heave to Dwayne Jarrett fell incomplete, and the Panthers were left to lament what might have been. "Unfortunately, we went backwards," coach John Fox said of the final few plays. "That wasn't by design. In one case, it was a player trying to make a play. In the other case, it was good pressure (by the defense). "I don't think you can fault DeAngelo Williams as far as what he did on that play, they just made a great play." Williams said the cut back is not part of the play's design, but that he thought he saw an opening to the left. "They all flowed to the right side and there was one guy on the back side," said Williams, who ran for a season-high 86 yards. "I tried to get around him and he made a great play. He made his play at the right time and we didn't." Ironically, Williams had a similar play earlier in the game and raced by the defender for a 39-yard touchdown, his first of the season. He said it's hard to say if he'd beaten Young whether or not he'd have scored. "I don't know," Williams said. "I didn't beat him. I don't like playing the 'what-if' game." Clausen admitted he should have gotten the ball out quicker on the third down play instead of taking a sack, but he was swarmed pretty quickly as the Saints brought more players than the Panthers could block. "I was just trying to make a play," Clausen said. "They were blitzing and I just couldn't get it out quick enough. But I can't take a sack in that situation." It was a tough ending for Clausen, who made some nice plays, including his first NFL touchdown pass – a 55-yarder to Jonathan Stewart – and the completion to Gettis on fourth down to move Carolina into Saints territory on the final drive." Read more: http://www.carolinagrowl.com/index....-in-16-14-loss-to-the-saints&catid=1:articles
