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New Orleans Saints score 10 points in final 2:29 to cap frantic finish in 20-17 victory

Charlie Smyth kicks 47-yard, game-winning field goal with two seconds remaining 

Check out the game action photos from the New Orleans Saints game against the Carolina Panthers for Week 15 of the 2025 NFL season on Dec. 14, 2025 at the Caesars Superdome.

The New Orleans Saints hitched to improbable Sunday and wouldn't loosen their grip until they crossed into possible and landed on victory, posting a 20-17 win over Carolina in the Caesars Superdome that riveted as they scored 10 points in the final 2:29.

The Saints (4-10) won their second consecutive game — their first winning streak this season — and evened their record to 3-3 with rookie Tyler Shough starting at quarterback.

Shough (24 of 32 for 272 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions) threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to receiver Chris Olave with 2:29 left to tie the score at 17-17. After the defense forced a punt, Shough led an eight-play, 62-yard drive that lasted 55 seconds and ended with Charlie Smyth's 47-yard field goal with two seconds left.

"Tyler Shough, he's building," said edge rusher Chase Young, whose nine-yard sack on Carolina's final possession helped force the punt. Young added two tackles for loss and two quarterback hits, but lauded the work of the Saints' rookie quarterback.

"Every week, I can tell he's getting more comfortable," Young said. "He's just starting to look like that guy."

Smyth, too, has assumed the look of a solid NFL kicker. He has made four of his first five kicks (he added a 42-yarder Sunday), and the game-winner was pure.

"We have a great operation," Smyth said. "I never have to think about the ball being in the right spot or with the right hold. It was a cool moment, and one I'll never forget."

Smyth was the Saints' kicker for the third straight game and with the Saints having used three practice squad elevations, he now must be added to the active roster or released from the practice squad.

His game-winner gave New Orleans its second, one-score victory in as many weeks over the NFC South Division leader. Last week, it was a 24-20 road win against Tampa Bay.

Adding to the degree of difficulty against Carolina (7-7), the Saints waded through attrition — running back Devin Neal (hamstring), receiver Devaughn Vele (ankle) and right guard Cesar Ruiz (ankle) were lost to injuries during the game — and gutted out a victory that raised their record to 3-2 in the NFC South.

New Orleans battled uphill the entire game; it punted on its opening drive and Carolina followed with a 13-play, 74-yard touchdown drive to take a 7-0 lead. The Saints used their first possession of the second quarter to construct a 17-play, 95-yard touchdown drive that lasted 11:22 and ended on Neal's 4-yard touchdown run, his second in as many weeks.

But the Panthers nudged ahead on a 40-yard field goal with 21 seconds left in the first half, then expanded the lead to 17-7 when quarterback Bryce Young threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Coker with 9:54 left in the third.

Three consecutive possessions resulted in a fourth-down stop by New Orleans' defense, a fourth-down stop by Carolina's defense, and a forced punt by New Orleans before the frantic finish.

The game-tying drive began at the Saints' 22-yard line with 4:37 left, and Shough completed six of seven passes for 83 yards, including the 12-yard score to Olave with 2:29 left. He connected with Olave, who had game highs of six catches for 85 yards, four times for 63 yards on the drive.

Carolina drove from its 29 to its 43 on its final drive before stalling and punting, with the Saints beginning the game's final drive at their 9-yard line following a holding penalty on the punt return.

Shough completed three passes for 43 yards, spiked the ball to stop the clock with 12 seconds left, then scrambled for four yards and drew a personal foul penalty because he was hit after he started his slide. The 15 yards pushed the Saints from Carolina's 44 to the 29, backup quarterback Spencer Rattler subbed in for the injured Shough to throw incomplete and sift three seconds off the clock to lower it to six seconds, and Smyth popped the winner on second-and-10.

"It was huge," Shough said of the victory. "I felt like we had played well on the road but we wanted to show the fans what we could do here, just as a team collectively. Just the resiliency, just a lot of fun. We're just proud of everybody throughout the whole game, especially against a really good team. Two playoff teams, back to back. It was a lot of fun."

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