SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Carolina Panthers rolled through the regular season, crushing opponents early in most of their 15 wins, even if they allowed teams to make things interesting at the end.
One team made Carolina work hard for the win in both games.
New Orleans, playing without Drew Brees in the first game and with him in the second, took the Panthers down to the wire in both matchups this season, dropping the first game on Josh Norman’s incredible leaping interception in the end zone and the second on a ridiculous fourth-down grab by Greg Olsen.