The Panthers were 1-4 when they fired head coach Matt Rhule.
But with a walk-off 42-yard field goal by kicker Eddy Piñeiro, the Panthers went 6-6 under interim head coach Steve Wilks to finish the season 7-10.
That kick gave Carolina a 10-7 victory over New Orleans.
In one of the few Week 18 contests without any postseason implications, the Saints squandered plenty of opportunities to score. With 1:24 left in the contest, Wil Lutz had his 55-yard field goal attempt blocked. It was his second missed field goal of the game, as Lutz sent a 44-yard attempt wide left in the first half.
While Sam Darnold had a bad game, he did make a couple of key plays to win it in the end. He scrambled for 13 yards to put the offense in New Orleans territory. Then he hit receiver Terrace Marshall for a 21-yard gain over the middle to put Carolina in field-goal range.
New Orleans tried to ice Piñeiro with a timeout, but it didn’t work as the 42-yard kick sailed through the uprights for a win.
Darnold finished the game 5-of-15 passing for 43 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions, which works out to a 2.8 passer rating.
Panthers running back D’Onta Foreman and Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport were both elected from the contest after taking swings at each other early in the second half.
With the season over, Wilks is expected to interview to be Carolina’s full-time head coach moving forward. There’s certainly an argument to keep him after he made the Panthers much more competitive than they were to start the season.
The Saints also finish the year at 7-10. They were swept by the Panthers for the first time since 2015.
