The Carolina Panthers were defeated 17-7 by the New Orleans Saints in Week 10. The game saw several notable individual performances and team milestones, despite the loss.
Linebacker D.J. Wonnum recorded a season-high six tackles, marking his best performance since Week 10 of last year. Defensive tackle Derrick Brown achieved a season-high with nine tackles, moving past Kawann Short for fourth place on the Panthers’ all-time list for tackles by defensive linemen, reaching a total of 288.
Safety Tre’von Moehrig, who led all safeties with eight tackles for loss entering the week, added seven more tackles and one tackle for loss against the Saints. This was his fourth game this season with at least seven tackles. Linebacker Trevin Wallace notched his second sack of the year during the Saints’ first passing play.
Rookie outside linebacker Nic Scourton sacked Saints quarterback Tyler Shough in the fourth quarter, bringing his season total to three sacks and tying him for the team lead. Scourton is now one of only three rookie linebackers in franchise history to record at least three sacks in their first season.
Running back Rico Dowdle rushed for 53 yards and scored a touchdown on 18 carries. He leads the team in rushing with 788 yards and five touchdowns on 149 attempts, ranking third overall in the NFL and first in the NFC in total yardage.
Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan caught five passes for 60 yards, remaining as Carolina’s top receiver with 46 receptions for 618 yards and two touchdowns this season. McMillan ranks among the top rookies league-wide in receiving yards and has set several franchise marks for rookie receivers, including becoming just the fifth Panther rookie to surpass 600 receiving yards.
Chuba Hubbard had three carries for 14 yards, which brought his career rushing total to 3,488 yards—making him the NFL’s all-time leading rusher among Canadian-born players after surpassing Rueben Mayes’ previous mark.
The Panthers were penalized once for five yards during Sunday’s game. This ties their second-fewest penalties ever in a single game and is their third-lowest penalty yardage mark historically. Through Week 10, they have committed fewer penalties than most teams across the league.
Carolina continued its streak of not allowing an offensive touchdown in any first quarter so far this season—a feat matched only by Green Bay through ten games.
In terms of playing time distribution, Carolina’s offensive line played every snap together without injury interruptions—a contrast from earlier weeks—and each starting wide receiver logged over seventy percent of snaps. Rookie tight end Mitchell Evans returned after an ankle injury scare to finish with similar playing time as last week.
With Tershawn Wharton healthy again and contributing significantly alongside Derrick Brown up front (seven tackles including one for loss), Carolina’s defensive line showed improvement compared to previous seasons.
After Trevin Wallace left due to a shoulder injury, Claudin Cherelus stepped into defense while maintaining full special teams duties. Thomas Incoom and rookie Corey Thornton each appeared briefly on defense as well.
Special teams rotations shifted slightly this week due to player availability; Trevor Etienne did not appear on offense while Dan Chisena contributed offensively following a special teams call-up. Reserve offensive linemen saw limited action exclusively during field goal or extra point situations as starters remained healthy throughout.
