Saints Capitulate In Baton Rouge
Bouman starts hot but ices the "home" team in his first start as a Saint

posted December 18, 2005 - print me!
neworleansprofootball.com
By Chris Pika - courtesy of neworleanssaints.com

BATON ROUGE, La.--Jake Delhomme threw for one touchdown and ran for another and WR Steve Smith had a TD catch and a scoring run as Carolina defeated New Orleans, 27-10 in Tiger Stadium.

Carolina (10-4) broke a 7-7 tie in the second quarter with a 32-yard field goal by K John Kasay and a two-yard TD run by Delhomme just before halftime as the Panthers led, 17-7.

New Orleans (3-11) had six turnovers in the game which turned into 13 Carolina points.

The Panthers took a 7-0 lead on their first possession of the contest. Carolina started the drive from their 30. After a pair of runs for three and two yards by RB DeShaun Foster, Delhomme threw deep downfield and completed a 40-yard pass to WR Drew Carter down to the Saints' 25. A five-yard penalty for 12 men on the field against New Orleans moved the ball to the 20. The Panthers used an end-around on the next play as Smith took a handoff from Delhomme and headed down the far sideline. Smith was knocked out of bounds in the air by a Saints defender, but was ruled to have crossed the goal line before he landed out of bounds for a touchdown with 10:33 remaining.

New Orleans came right back as Todd Bouman, who took over the starting role this week, led the Saints offense on a eight-play, 80-yard drive to tie the game at 7-7 with 4:42 left in the quarter. Bouman hit WR Az-Zahir Hakim for a 13-yard gain which converted a third down opportunity to the Saints' 35. Consecutive penalties on Carolina for defensive holding and roughing the passer later in the drive gave the Saints a first down at the Panthers' 27. A four-yard run by RB Antowain Smith was followed by a 23-yard TD pass to a wide-open WR Donte' Stallworth.

The Saints got the game's first turnover in the second quarter as Delhomme was hit as he threw at the New Orleans 12. The ball bounced into the hands of DE Charles Grant at the 23 and he fell toward the ground at the Saints' 46. As he fell to the turf, he flipped the ball to S Dwight Smith, who continued to return the ball inside the Panthers' 5. Grant was called for an illegal forward pass on the play and New Orleans took over at their 41 after a Saints replay challenge that was upheld with 11:52 to go in the half.

Four plays later, the Panthers got the ball back as Bouman was intercepted by S Mike Minter at the Carolina 1. He returned the pick 47 yards to the Carolina 48 with 10:06 remaining.

Carolina took a 10-7 lead eight plays after the interception as Kasay made a 32-yard field goal with 5:22 to play before halftime.

Bouman drove the Saints to the Panthers' 38 on their ensuing possession, but he was picked off after a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage. DE Al Wallace snagged the ball at the Carolina 36 with 1:52 to play.

Delhomme made it 17-7 with 41 seconds remaining in the half as he ran up the middle for a two-yard TD which capped a six-play, 64-yard drive, helped by a 30-yard pass to RB Nick Goings to the Saints' 13 three plays before the score.

Late in the third quarter, Carolina extended their lead to 24-7 after a 15-yard TD pass from Delhomme to Smith with 27 seconds to play.

In the fourth quarter, K John Carney made a 44-yard field goal with 5:47 remaining to cut the lead to 24-10. The field goal was the 384th of his career, which broke a tie with Nick Lowery for third all-time in NFL history.

Kasay's second field goal of the game, a 29-yarder with 1:02 left was the game's final points.

Delhomme was 13-of-21 passing for 176 yards, one TD and one interception for the Panthers. Smith had six catches for 85 yards and one TD. Foster led Carolina with 21 carries for 75 yards.

Bouman was 17-of-34 passing for 193 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. Stallworth had five catches for 102 yards and one score to lead all Saints receivers. RB Aaron Stecker had nine carries for 59 yards.

Carolina out-gained New Orleans, 326-277.

The Saints host the Detroit Lions next Saturday (Dec. 24) in San Antonio's Alamodome (Noon CT; WWL 870-AM, KGLA 1540-AM [Spanish], Saints Radio Network).

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