The New Orleans Saints lead their division rival Carolina Panthers 20-13 after one half of play.
The Saints took a very early lead thanks to a Patrick Robinson interception on the first play, which the Saints turned into a touchdown three plays later with a short pass to fullback Jed Collins. But the Panthers bounced right back with a long catch and run touchdown by Steve Smith.
Drew Brees and the Saints offense have been solid on third down, allowing them to move the ball and dominate time of possession. That was crucial on a later scoring drive resulting in a Mark Ingram touchdown. But the Panthers once again fought back and scored on a long 69-yard DeAngelo Williams touchdown run.
This has turned into a battle and the Panthers will not go down without a fight. Things have been getting physical and chippy on the field between the two teams so the second half should be interesting.
Make the jump for full stats from the first half of today's game.
Team Stats
| NO | CAR | ||
| First Downs | 16 | 6 | |
| Total Yards | 248 | 205 | |
| Passing Yards | 184 | 95 | |
| Rushing Yards | 64 | 110 | |
| Penalties (Yds) | 5(50) | 5(50) | |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 | |
| Punts (AVG) | 1(25) | 2(44) | |
| Time of Pos. | 20:41 | 9:19 |
Top Performers
| NEW ORLEANS SAINTS | ||||
| Passing | CP/AT | YDS | TD | INT |
| D. Brees | 18/25 | 200 | 1 | 0 |
| Rushing | CAR | YDS | TD | LG |
| D. Sproles | 7 | 41 | 0 | 23 |
| P. Thomas | 5 | 13 | 0 | 4 |
| Receiving | REC | YDS | TD | LG |
| J. Graham | 4 | 53 | 0 | 25 |
| L. Moore | 3 | 30 | 0 | 13 |
| D. Sproles | 3 | 26 | 0 | 12 |
| CAROLINA PANTHERS | ||||
| Passing | CP/AT | YDS | TD | INT |
| C. Newton | 6/11 | 100 | 1 | 1 |
| Rushing | CAR | YDS | TD | LG |
| D. Williams | 5 | 102 | 1 | 69T |
| C. Newton | 2 | 8 | 0 | 6 |
| Receiving | REC | YDS | TD | LG |
| S. Smith | 2 | 60 | 1 | 54T |
| L. Naanee | 2 | 27 | 0 | 22 |
| G. Olsen | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 |