Charlie Smyth’s 47-yard field goal with two seconds remaining sent the New Orleans Saints past the Carolina Panthers 20-17 at Caesars Superdome on December 14, 2025, handing Carolina its seventh loss of the season and stalling the Panthers’ bid for sole possession of the NFC South division lead. Tyler Shough completed 24 of 32 passes for 272 yards and a touchdown, directing two scoring drives in the final five minutes while posting a 110.4 passer rating to lead all quarterbacks on the night.
Table of Contents
Game Information
Date: December 14, 2025
Venue: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Attendance: 70,070
Broadcast: FOX
Final Score: New Orleans Saints 20, Carolina Panthers 17
Jalen Coker 32-yd pass from Bryce Young (Ryan Fitzgerald kick)
8 plays, 70 yds, 5:06
3rd
1:56
NO
Charlie Smyth 42-yd FG
14 plays, 48 yds, 7:58
4th
2:29
NO
Chris Olave 12-yd pass from Tyler Shough (Charlie Smyth kick)
7 plays, 78 yds, 2:08
4th
0:02
NO
Charlie Smyth 47-yd FG (game-winner)
8 plays, 62 yds, 0:55
Passing Stats
Carolina Panthers
Player
C/ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
INT
SACKS
QBR
RTG
Bryce Young
15/24
163
6.8
1
0
1-9
77.3
96.4
New Orleans Saints
Player
C/ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
INT
SACKS
QBR
RTG
Tyler Shough
24/32
272
8.5
1
0
5-16
59.9
110.4
Spencer Rattler
0/1
0
—
0
0
0-0
11.9
39.6
Rushing Stats
Carolina Panthers
Player
CAR
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
Rico Dowdle
16
49
3.1
1
8
Bryce Young
7
49
7.0
0
15
Chuba Hubbard
8
29
3.6
0
10
Team
31
127
4.1
1
15
New Orleans Saints
Player
CAR
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
Tyler Shough
8
32
4.0
0
13
Devin Neal
7
28
4.0
1
15
Evan Hull
4
12
3.0
0
6
Audric Estime
3
11
3.7
0
5
Taysom Hill
2
2
1.0
0
2
Mason Tipton
1
-4
-4.0
0
-4
Team
25
81
3.2
1
15
Receiving Stats
Carolina Panthers
Player
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
TGT
Jalen Coker
4
60
15.0
1
32
4
Xavier Legette
2
39
19.5
0
34
3
Tetairoa McMillan
2
25
12.5
0
21
4
Tommy Tremble
2
13
6.5
0
8
4
Chuba Hubbard
1
9
9.0
0
9
1
Jimmy Horn Jr.
1
7
7.0
0
7
1
Rico Dowdle
1
5
5.0
0
5
1
Ja’Tavion Sanders
2
5
2.5
0
6
2
Team
15
163
10.9
1
34
20
New Orleans Saints
Player
REC
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
TGT
Chris Olave
6
85
14.2
1
18
9
Devaughn Vele
5
69
13.8
0
17
6
Audric Estime
3
39
13.0
0
19
3
Kevin Austin Jr.
3
33
11.0
0
18
5
Juwan Johnson
4
30
7.5
0
12
4
Jack Stoll
1
7
7.0
0
7
1
Mason Tipton
1
5
5.0
0
5
2
Devin Neal
1
4
4.0
0
4
1
Team
24
272
11.3
1
19
31
Defensive Stats
Carolina Panthers
Player
TOT
SOLO
SACKS
TFL
PD
QB HTS
Nick Scott
10
6
0
0
0
0
Jaycee Horn
7
6
0
0
2
0
Mike Jackson
6
5
0
1
1
0
Christian Rozeboom
6
3
1.0
0
0
1
Bobby Brown III
6
3
0.5
0
0
1
Chau Smith-Wade
6
3
0
0
0
0
Tre’von Moehrig
5
3
0
0
0
0
DJ Wonnum
4
2
2.0
1
0
2
A’Shawn Robinson
4
1
0
0
0
0
Derrick Brown
4
1
0
0
0
0
Lathan Ransom
3
1
0
0
0
0
Trevin Wallace
3
0
0
0
0
0
Robert Rochell
2
1
0
0
0
0
Trevis Gipson
1
1
1.0
1
0
1
Claudin Cherelus
1
1
0
0
0
0
Princely Umanmielen
1
1
0
0
0
0
Nic Scourton
1
0
0.5
0
0
1
Team
70
38
5.0
3
3
6
New Orleans Saints
Player
TOT
SOLO
SACKS
TFL
PD
QB HTS
Chase Young
6
4
1.0
2
0
2
Jonas Sanker
6
3
0
1
0
0
Jonathan Bullard
6
2
0
0
0
0
Demario Davis
5
4
0
0
0
0
Jordan Howden
5
3
0
0
0
0
Kool-Aid McKinstry
4
3
0
0
0
0
Cameron Jordan
3
3
0
0
0
0
Pete Werner
3
3
0
0
0
0
Alontae Taylor
3
2
0
0
0
0
Quincy Riley
3
2
0
0
2
0
Jonah Williams
3
1
0
0
0
0
Chris Rumph II
3
1
0
1
0
0
Bryan Bresee
3
1
0
1
0
0
Danny Stutsman
2
2
0
0
0
0
Davon Godchaux
2
1
0
0
0
0
Nathan Shepherd
2
1
0
0
0
1
Jaylan Ford
1
1
0
0
0
0
Isaiah Stalbird
1
0
0
0
0
0
Team
61
37
1.0
5
2
3
Special Teams
Kicking
Player
FG
PCT
LONG
XP
PTS
Ryan Fitzgerald (CAR)
1/1
100.0%
40 yds
2/2
5
Charlie Smyth (NO)
2/2
100.0%
47 yds
2/2
8
Smyth connected on field goals of 42 and 47 yards. A 46-yard attempt earlier in the fourth quarter was wiped off the board when New Orleans accepted a Carolina offside penalty.
Punting
Player
NO
YDS
AVG
TB
IN 20
LONG
Sam Martin (CAR)
3
142
47.3
0
2
56
Kai Kroeger (NO)
2
95
47.5
0
1
58
Kick Returns
Player
NO
YDS
AVG
LONG
TD
Chuba Hubbard (CAR)
2
50
25.0
27
0
Trevor Etienne (CAR)
1
25
25.0
25
0
Rico Dowdle (CAR)
1
23
23.0
23
0
CAR Team
4
98
24.5
27
0
Evan Hull (NO)
3
72
24.0
29
0
Mason Tipton (NO)
1
19
19.0
19
0
NO Team
4
91
22.8
29
0
Punt Returns
Player
NO
YDS
AVG
LONG
TD
Trevor Etienne (CAR)
1
16
16.0
16
0
New Orleans
—
—
—
—
—
Fumbles
Player
FUM
LOST
REC
Jalen Coker (CAR)
1
1
0
Mason Tipton (NO)
1
0
0
Dillon Radunz (NO)
0
0
1
Pete Werner (NO)
0
0
1
Full Team Box Score
Stat
Carolina Panthers
New Orleans Saints
Final Score
17
20
Total Yards
281
337
Passing Yards (net)
154
256
Rushing Yards
127
81
Total Plays
56
63
Yards per Play
5.0
5.3
Comp/Att
15/24
24/33
Yards per Pass Attempt
6.2
6.7
Sacks-Yards Lost
1-9
5-16
Rushing Attempts
31
25
Yards per Rush
4.1
3.2
First Downs
15
27
Passing First Downs
7
14
Rushing First Downs
7
7
First Downs via Penalty
1
6
Third Down Efficiency
7/14 (50.0%)
6/11 (54.5%)
Fourth Down Efficiency
2/3 (66.7%)
1/2 (50.0%)
Red Zone (Made/Att)
1/1
2/3
Penalties
11 for 103 yds
9 for 78 yds
Turnovers
1
0
Fumbles Lost
1
0
Interceptions
0
0
Time of Possession
28:16
31:44
Injury Report
Carolina Panthers: DE Turk Wharton (hamstring) was scratched on Saturday and did not play.
New Orleans Saints: RB Devin Neal (hamstring) left the game shortly after his second-quarter touchdown run. RG Cesar Ruiz (ankle) and WR Devaughn Vele (shoulder) did not return after leaving in the second half. S Justin Reid (knee) missed his second consecutive game.
Officiating Crew
Referee: Alex Moore | Line Judge: Thomas Eaton | Down Judge: Dana McKenzie | Umpire: Terry Killens Jr. | Field Judge: Mearl Robinson | Back Judge: Terrence Miles | Side Judge: Anthony Jeffries
Carolina fell to 7-7 with the loss, sitting one game ahead of Tampa Bay in the NFC South standings with a divisional matchup against the Buccaneers on the schedule the following Sunday. New Orleans improved to 4-10, with Shough recording his third win in six starts as the Saints’ quarterback and the team posting consecutive victories over NFC South playoff contenders for the first time in Kellen Moore’s first season as head coach.
I'm Sean L. Garcia, a Swedish-born American journalist based in Washington with over six years of experience reporting across local publications and digital media. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and have spent the better part of my career covering the full spectrum of news, from breaking world affairs and domestic politics to sports analysis, consumer technology, automotive industry developments, the business of entertainment, celebrity culture, gaming, health, and the cultural moments that define how people actually live. I launched Daily Info Magazine on April 05, 2026, because I wanted to build one publication where readers never have to go elsewhere, a destination backed by real reporting, proper sourcing, and an editorial team that takes accuracy seriously across every beat we cover. I serve as Editor-in-Chief and continue to report, write, and publish alongside our team of writers, researchers, and editors every single day.
