Jimmy Clausen has put his first NFL touchdown on the board for the Panthers.
The Saints neglected to cover Jonathan Stewart out of the backfield on a second down play and the rookie from Notre Dame found him for an easy 55-yard touchdown. The score tied the game at 7 with just over 12 minutes to play in the first half.
Clausen is 3-for-4 for 76 yards, but some shoddy play clock management forced the Panthers to burn two of their timeouts early in the first quarter. The Panthers rushing attack remains stuck in neutral. They’ve gained just 18 yards on seven rushes.
The Saints got on the board on the first play of the second quarter on a Drew Brees pass to Lance Moore. Moore’s score helped atone for a fumble on the one-yard line in the first quarter that blew a prime scoring chance for the home side.